Mark Shiel (King’s College London)

Mark Shiel is Professor of Film, Media, and Urban Studies at King’s College London, where his teaching and research are concerned with media, cities, and the built environment. He is the author or editor of five books, including Architectures of Revolt: The Cinematic City circa 1968 (Rutgers University Press, 2018), Hollywood Cinema and the Real Los Angeles (Chicago University Press, 2012), and Italian Neorealism: Rebuilding the Cinematic City (Columbia University Press, 2006). He is also a photographer and documentary filmmaker, working on architectural and urban subjects across Ireland, Europe, and North America. His most recent film is Madingley (2025), about modern architecture, landscape, and World War Two, and he is currently working on a new film about Dublin Port and its built environment.

Sarah Thomas (University of Liverpool)

Sarah Thomas is Senior Lecturer in Communication and Media and Co-Director of the Centre for Converged Screen Media and Entertainment (COSME) at the University of Liverpool. Her work examines stardom and screen performance, especially in the context of Hollywood, digital technologies and intellectual property. She is author of Peter Lorre – Face Maker (Berghahn 2012), James Mason (BFI 2018), and the forthcoming edited collection Stars and Franchises: Image, Identity and Intellectual Property (EUP). Her most recent book is Smart Stardom: Advanced Digital Technologies and the Replication of Celebrity (with Christopher Holliday, Routledge 2026).