What: Midway evaluation for Duane Hopkins, PhD fellow at FILMART at The Norwegian Film School/ Faculty of Film, TV and Games, Innland University
Where: At The Norwegian Film School´s Oslo location (Blackbox), Myrens Verksted 6F (entrance by Akerselva)
When: September 22nd 2025 13-15:30
"Disappearing Into The Image: The Frame Across Film"
Duane Hopkin´s PhD project explores how the artist’s and viewer’s relationship to image, time, and narrative shifts across three major modes of lens-based representation: still photography, narrative cinema, and immersive film. The central research question asks: How does the evolution of photographic media—from the fixed frame to the moving sequence to the immersive environment—transform the construction of meaning and the roles of artist and spectator?
His artistic research comprises three interconnected components: First, a curated series of analogue landscape photographs, captured using one of the earliest medium-format film cameras. Second, the development of a feature-length screenplay adapted from a novel. Third, the conceptual and practical development of an immersive, virtual reality narrative film designed for 360° or 180° stereoscopic production.
Through practice and critical reflection, the research investigates how storytelling transforms across media, and what new narrative possibilities may emerge as we move from looking at images, to moving with them, to inhabiting them.
Midterm evaluation
The opponent at the midterm evaluation of Duane Hopkins is Jakob Høgel, Head of Educations & Research at The National Film School of Denmark. The event will be held in English and is open to the audience.
At the midway evaluation, the candidate will present their project and discuss it with the opponent and other colleagues in the field. The midterm assessment is designed to help the candidate summarise their ongoing work, develop forms of presentation and discussion, reflect, and disseminate the project in a research context. The midterm assessment is also intended to help the candidate, and their academic supervisors, to draw up concrete plans for further work on the PhD towards final assessment.
About Duane Hopkins
Filmmaker Duane Hopkins is a PhD fellow at The Norwegian Film School. He began his artistic practice in the UK and his short form pieces FIELD & LOVE ME OR LEAVE ALONE played over 200 film festivals, won 35 awards and were exhibited worldwide. His first feature film BETTER THINGS was selected for the Cannes Film festival and nominated for the Camera d’Or. The film won the FIPRESCI award at the Stockholm International Film festival and received the SIGNIS award from the World Catholic Association for Communication. He staged his first Solo exhibition at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art UK entitled SUNDAY, a group of multi-screen film installations which he went on to exhibit worldwide in Museums of Modern / Contemporary Art. His second feature film BYPASS had its world premiere in the Orrizzonti Competition at Venice Film Festival. He was one of the selected artist to represent UK for the FIFA World Cup resulting in short form piece TWELFTH MAN which has over one million online views.
About opponent Jakob Høgel
Opponent Jakob Høgel will discuss Duane Hopkins´ artistic research project with him in a public conversation after his presentation.
Jakob Høgel is Head of Education and Research at the National Film School of Denmark. He is co-founder of Rough Cut Service, a consulting collective of world-class editors and film commissioner for documentaries at West Danish Film Fund. He was Artistic Director of New Danish Screen, a succesful talent development scheme and innovation fund from 2007-14 and, before that, founder and co-owner of Danish production company, Cosmo Doc. From 1999-2004 he was commissioning editor for Documentaries & Shorts at the Danish Film Institute. He is also a visual anthropologist with a focus on developing film sectors and film policy.