James Fenwick is a Senior Lecturer in Creative and Cultural Industries at The University of Manchester. He has previously worked at Sheffield Hallam University, UWE Bristol, University of Derby, and De Montfort University. His PhD examined the business of filmmaking and the global financial, production, distribution, and exhibition practices of film producers through a case study of Stanley Kubrick. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, an Academic Delegate on The National Archives’ User Advisory Group, and co-editor of the Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television.

James’s research focus is on the history and heritage of the creative and cultural industries, including film, television, cinema, and festivals, along with research interests in cultural producers, exploitation and cultural workers, and culture-led regeneration in the North of England. He principally investigates the ways in which popular culture is archived and used in knowledge production, archival gaps and silences in cultural archives, and the ways in which researchers, archivists, and non-academic audiences can collaborate to reveal new or overlooked stories, voices, and perspectives about our shared cultural lives. He has written extensively about the life and work of Stanley Kubrick, the phenomenon of unmade film and television, the culture-led regeneration of post-industrial cities since the 1980s, the political economy of film festivals, and archival methods and practices of archiving culture.

James is the programme director for the BA Creative and Cultural Industries and convenes modules such as Culture as Industry and Arts & Socio-Economic Development. He also teaches on the MA Creative and Cultural Industries.

James welcomes PhD proposals in the broad research areas of cultural and media history; Kubrick studies; cultural archives and archival methods; film and television industries and workers; festival studies; cultural industries and urban regeneration; and unmade/unproduction studies.

Fellow, Royal Historical Society
Academic Delegate, The National Archives' User Advisory Group
Ordinary member, International Association for Media and History (IAMHIST)
Fellow, Higher Education Academy
Editor, Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television (2024-)
Editor, Open Screens (2022-2024)
Editorial Board, New Cinemas: Journal of Contemporary Film (2022-)
Editorial Board, Galactica Media: Journal of Media Studies (2021-)
Editorial Board, Frames Cinema Journal (2020-)