Dr. Alexandre Moussa

Dr. Alexandre Moussa
Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris, France

Notice of Departure: Dr. Alexandre Moussa

Dr. Alexandre Moussa has concluded his involvement with the AGE-C project. During his time with us, Dr. Moussa made significant contributions to the thematic development of our project and the creation of the dataset.

While he is no longer an active member of the team, we are pleased to maintain contact and look forward to future opportunities for collaboration. We extend our heartfelt thanks to Dr. Moussa for his dedication and invaluable input, which have left a lasting impact on the project.

About me

After graduating from EM Lyon Business School in 2011 and working for several years in film production, I went back to school for a Master’s degree in Film studies, that I followed with a PhD from the Sorbonne Nouvelle University (Paris, France). My thesis, dedicated to French actress, director and activist Delphine Seyrig, is entitled ““I am not an apparition, I’m a woman”: Delphine Seyrig, modern cinema icon, unbowed actress, feminist star” (dir. Raphaëlle Moine, 2021). My work, blending film analysis and film history, focuses on the study of screen performance and star images, feminist film theory and practices, and gender representation in film. Besides research, I’ve taught at la Sorbonne Nouvelle University, the University of Poitiers and the University of Paris 10 (Nanterre). I also work as a film critic (for the online film magazine Critikat) and a film programmer and I’ve written and directed several short features.

Contact

E-Mail: alexandre.moussa[at]sorbonne-nouvelle.fr

Resarch Interests

Film acting, star studies, gender studies, film analysis, film history, European cinema, modern cinema, feminist and queer film theory and practices.

Publications

Alexandre Moussa, « Valérie Lemercier, de Palais royal à 100% Cachemire : Les limites du pouvoir émancipateur de l’indocilité comique », Genre en séries, n° 12-13 : « Genre et comédie : stars, performances, personnages », 2022.

Alexandre Moussa, « Marie France ou Marilyn : l’actrice, la femme et leurs doubles dans Maggy Moon, Mais qui est donc cette petite blonde ? (Jean-Louis Jorge, Olympic, décembre 1974) », dans Florence Fix et Corinne François-Denève (dir.), Revue d’études culturelles, n° 9 : « Jouer Marilyn », automne 2022, p. 29-40.

Alexandre Moussa, « Je ne suis pas une apparition, je suis une femme » : Delphine Seyrig, icône du cinéma moderne, actrice insoumise, star féministe, thèse en cinéma et audiovisuel, Raphaëlle Moine (dir.), Université Sorbonne Nouvelle, 2021.

Alexandre Moussa, « Mémoire vive du cinéma, mémoire vive de l’Histoire : Danielle Darrieux dans En haut des marches de Paul Vecchiali (1983) », dans Gwénaëlle Le Gras et Geneviève Sellier (dir.), Danielle Darrieux. La Traversée d’un siècle, Pessac, coll. « Cinéma(s) », Presses Universitaires de Bordeaux, 2020, p. 261-273.

Alexandre Moussa, « De la guerre entre féministes et cinéphiles en général, et d’Iris Brey en particulier : La forme et le fond », https://www.critikat.com/panorama/analyse/de-la-guerre-entre-feministes-et-cinephiles-en-general-et-diris-brey-en-particulier/, 5 mai 2020.

Alexandre Moussa, « Undoing the Diva: Delphine Seyrig as an Actress, or the Deconstruction of a Myth », in Nataša Petrešin-Bachelez and Giovanna Zapperi (ed.), Defiant Muses: Delphine Seyrig and the Feminist Video Collectives in France in the 1970s and 1980s, Madrid, Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, 2019, p. 74-88.

Activities (selection)

Associate Lecturer in Film Studies & Performing Arts, Université de Poitiers.

Programmer, Film Society Les Trésors de Marlene, Cinéma Le Dietrich (Poitiers).

Film Critic, Critikat.

Member of the editing committee, Genre en séries (Online journal on gender and cultural approaches to media productions)

Member of the executive board, Filmer le travail International Film Festival (Poitiers).

My AGE-C story

Through my previous work on French stars Delphine Seyrig and Danielle Darrieux in the 1980s, I had already started to investigate the difficulties experienced by ageing female stars and the strategies they deploy in order to keep working despite the lack of leading parts. The AGE-C program is a fantastic opportunity for me to expand my research to contemporary European cinema and to explore the intersection between ageing, star image and screen performance. For instance, through what means do ageing stars resist the passing of time – what genres or mediums do they explore, what parts do they choose, what tools (make-up, CGI, lighting, framing) are used to hide the effect of ageing on their bodies? Or, in contrast, how do younger stars tackle with playing older characters and what do these performances of old age tell us about our perception of ageing?