The Association of Moving Image Archivists - Nontheatrical Student Essay Award

In collaboration with AMIA (Association of Moving Image Archivists) and its journal, The Moving Image, the SCMS Nontheatrical Film and Media SIG is delighted to announce its fifth annual Nontheatrical Student Essay Award

Designed to recognize outstanding graduate student scholarship founded upon archival nontheatrical research, this award underscores both organizations’ commitment to mentorship and professional development, connecting award-recipients with mentors to guide them through the process of crafting journal-ready manuscripts. The award-winning essay will also be published (subject to revisions) in The Moving Image.

Our fourth award went to John Adrianfer Atienza (University of the Philippines Diliman), for his paper ‘Filipino Balik-titig and the American Liberator Narrative in United News Newsreels.’ Keep your eyes peeled for its publication in The Moving Image! In 2025, we also introduced an Honorable Mention. This time it was received by Will Hair (University of Chicago) for his paper ‘Local Haunts: Uncovering Blackness in the H. Lee Waters Film Collection.’

Eligibility

Applicants must be enrolled in a recognized graduate program at the time of entry.

Submission Criteria

Audience: essays should be broadly relevant to both media archivists and media scholars.
The winning scholarly essay will demonstrate original and critical analysis, clarity of argument and exposition, and engagement with varied source materials related to the study of nontheatrical media (e.g. science film, educational film, home movies, government films, etc.)
Students may submit their own paper, or they may be nominated by an advisor or professor with the author’s consent. In either case, the submitter should provide a short author’s CV.
Papers shall be submitted in English and may not have been published in part or in whole by the time of submission. The manuscript should be 4000-6000 words in length (double spaced, Times New Roman, 12 pt, with 1-inch margins, using the Chicago Manual of Style, 17th edition), including footnotes/endnotes but excluding bibliography.
Before the first-place essay is published in The Moving Image, its author will work with a faculty mentor and The Moving Image editors to revise the essay for publication, in keeping with the developmental editing procedures of the journal.
Submissions will be evaluated by the governing body of the Nontheatrical Film and Media SIG and editors from The Moving Image.

Submissions will be due 15 February 2027 and can be sent to nontheatricalessayaward@gmail.com. The award winner will be contacted in March 2027, and announced at the 2027 SCMS Annual Conference.

Download the Call for Submissions here.

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The Moving Image is the journal of the Association of Moving Image Archivists (AMIA). It explores topics relevant to both the media archivist and the media scholar. The Moving Image deals with crucial issues surrounding the preservation, archiving, and restoration of film, video, and digital moving images. It features detailed profiles of moving image collections; interpretive and historical essays about archival materials; articles on archival description, appraisal, and access; behind-the-scenes looks at the techniques used to preserve, restore, and digitize moving images; and theoretical articles on the future of the field.

The Nontheatrical Film & Media scholarly interest group of the Society of Cinema and Media Studies (SCMS) provides a setting for scholars working in this area to collaborate, share research tips, and debate methodological issues. Moreover, this SIG acts as another connection between the academic and archival worlds, and between other SIGs and committees within SCMS, such as the Media Archives Committee. The mission of the Nontheatrical Film & Media Scholarly Interest Group is to facilitate discussion, consolidation, outreach, and inclusion.