Jessica Moore is a PhD candidate in Film at the University of Cambridge. 

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Jessica’s doctoral research is a philosophical investigation of looseness in the narrative film. The quality of looseness is defined, developed, and tested through close readings of individual films, which are selected on the basis that they feel, in some sense, lingering, digressive, unhurried, slackened, or freewheeling. The project’s aim is to produce original readings of a selection of films, offering fresh critical insights about them, and to establish looseness as a generative optic for monitoring and accounting for several aspects of aesthetic experience; looseness can manifest through, for example, a film's scene continuity, dramatic tension, coherence, rhythm, composition, and performances. The project’s guiding claim is that sensitivity to loose form can make us more receptive to a film’s complexities and achievements. To illustrate its versatility, looseness is identified and conceptualised through a range of films, including titles by Chantal Akerman, David Lynch, Kelly Reichardt, Jacques Rivette, and Wim Wenders.​

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The topic emerged at the intersection of numerous research interests, including film aesthetics, film philosophy, film evaluation, slow cinema, the work of Chantal Akerman, literary studies, and philosophical criticism.​​

 

 

 

education

PhD, Film 

Newnham College, University of Cambridge.

2023 - 2027 (expected)

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MSt, Film Aesthetics (Distinction)

Worcester College, University of Oxford.

2021 - 2022

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BA Hons, English (First-Class)

University of Kent with an Erasmus+ year at Freie Univeristät Berlin.

2016 - 2020

 

 

 

​​​​scholarships, grants, prizes

Vice-Chancellor’s and Newnham College Scholarship 
Cambridge Trust and Newnham College, University of Cambridge. Awarded based on competitive ranking, as assessed through the University’s postgraduate funding competition.

2023 - 2026

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Postgraduate Research and Travel Grant 
Newnham College, University of Cambridge.

2025

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Postgraduate Research and Travel Grant 
Newnham College, University of Cambridge.

2024 

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Distinction Prize
Worcester College, University of Oxford. Concurrently achieved the highest average mark of the subject cohort.

2022

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School of English Rotary Prize 
Faculty of Humanities, University of Kent. Awarded to the top achieving student in the degree subject.

2020
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presented papers

‘Dangling conversations, flickering desires: towards and away from Chantal Akerman’s Toute une nuit (1982)’, Film Work in Progress Seminar, Queens College, University of Cambridge, 2025

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‘‘Slight Shudders’: the Aesthetics of Emphasis in Kelly Reichardt’s Showing Up (2022)’, Rethinking Rhythm in Film Symposium, Anglia Ruskin University, 2025

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‘Reconsidering ‘unevenness’ in Ingmar Bergman’s Wild Strawberries (1957)’ as part of ‘Forget About the Beautiful: the Messy, the Uneven, the Disappointing, and the Silly’ Film and Philosophy SIG panel, BAFTSS Annual Conference 2025, University of Warwick, 2025

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‘Narrative Carousels and Modes of Play in Jacques Rivette’s Céline et Julie vont en bateau (1974)', Preface, Prelude, Prologue: an interdisciplinary symposium, University of Sussex with Lewes Depot Cinema, 2024

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‘Everything turns into Formica: Visualising Crisis in Barbara Loden’s Wanda (1970)’, Newnham College MCR Graduate Conference, Newnham College, University of Cambridge, 2024​​​​

 

 

 

​​​​​​selected writing​​​​​

Visualizing Liberation in 'But I'm a Cheerleader'MUBI Notebook, 2020

https://mubi.com/en/notebook/posts/visualizing-liberation-in-but-i-m-a-cheerleader-9518

 

 

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​​​other experiences

During her time at Cambridge, Jessica co-convened the Film Work in Progress seminar series; supervised undergraduates; held the position of Vice President of the historic Newnham Arts Society during its revival; co-organised a book launch and symposium for Gilles Deleuze and Film Criticism (Palgrave Macmillan, 2023); and worked as a College Mentor for the University's outreach programme, SHARE (Social Sciences and Humanities Access to Research Experience).

 

Outside Cambridge, Jessica is a member of BAFTSS (British Association of Film, Television and Screen Studies) and MOVIOLA. She is one of two founding co-convenors of the reading group Close-Up and the founding editor-in-chief of Wasteland Arts. She has worked as a pre-selection juror for small film festivals and has attended the BFI London Film Festival as a press delegate. While at Oxford, Jessica co-edited the film column of Cherwell, the University's oldest and leading student newspaper (founded in 1920), and she wrote for The Isis (founded in 1892, the longest-running independent student magazine in the UK, whose alumni include Evelyn Waugh and Sylvia Plath). Throughout her studies, Jessica has written articles, lists, and reviews for various online magazines.

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​Beyond film, Jessica has professional experience as a library assistant at the University of Cambridge; as a receptionist at the Ruskin School of Art; and as an admissions officer at Magdalen College, Oxford. As the College's admissions officer, Jessica worked closely with outreach officers and tutorial fellows. Higher education access remains an area of serious professional interest.

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