August 3, 2025—August 7, 2025

Visible Evidence XXXI

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

VE XXXI Theme: “Community”

 

Visible Evidence, the annual scholarly conference on documentary and nonfiction film, media, and politics will convene for its 31st year in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. VE XXXI is hosted by Temple University’s Film and Media Arts department, in partnership with area colleges and universities, including the University of Pennsylvania, Swarthmore College, and Bryn Mawr College.

The overarching theme for this conference is “Community,” a nod to the important history of community media practices in Philadelphia and the continued vitality of the city as a center for independent documentary production. And while Philadelphia serves as a jumping off point, globally-oriented proposals are welcome that conceive of community in its expanded sense from any angle in documentary studies and media, whether focusing on communities of practitioners or theorizing community in a virtual, digital age. While we hope the theme is generative, submissions are not limited to it.

The conference will run from August 3-7, 2025, taking place immediately after Blackstar Film Festival, Philadelphia’s influential showcase of films by Black, Brown, and Indigenous artists from around the world. (https://www.blackstarfest.org/) The VE XXXI Call for Papers is now open.

Call for Papers

Submissions exploring any topic related to the study of documentary media practices are welcome. The conference invites several types of proposals: scholarly paper, theory-practice presentation, workshop, film screening, and pre-constituted panel. Scholarly papers of a traditional 20-minute length may be submitted via open call. Theory-practice presentations of 20 minutes are geared toward scholar-practitioners submitting audio-visual research or multi-modal material for which screened material will be accompanied by some theoretical presentation. Workshops consisting of 5-6 participants are envisioned as an open exchange of ideas between workshop participants. Film screenings will be accompanied by attending filmmakers, who will also have the chance to discuss their work in Q&A format with the delegates in attendance. Pre-constituted panel proposals are welcome for panels of three to four scholarly and/or theory-practice papers.

 All presentations will take place in person without an online option. All accepted attendees must be members of Visible Evidence in order to present at the conference.

Submissions are due Friday, February 28th, with acceptances going out in March 2025. The submission portal is available through Oxford Abstracts:

https://app.oxfordabstracts.com/stages/77529/submitter

If there are any questions or submission issues, please email us at ve2025@temple.edu

Sincerely,

VE 2025 Organizers,

Chris Cagle

Nora Alter

 

Film and Media Arts, Temple University

Philadelphia, PA, USA