Despite the ‘plurality of practice’ (Zimmermann, 2007, p. 275) that characterises amateur filmmaking, there persists the axiom that amateur filmmakers in the 19201950 period form a homogenous group and prescribes that they were more often than not white, male and middle class (Rieger, 2005, p. 205). This is based on a prevalence of films from this demographic, borne out in local, regional and national film collections across the UK. Scholarly argument asserts that amateur filmmaking was the preserve of only the wealthy, and therefore out of reach of large swathes of society (Zimmermann P, 1995, p. 130; MotrescuMayes, A., & Nicholson, 2018, p. 107). However, little quantitative research has been undertaken to survey populations of amateur filmmakers and indeed to apply a formal classification system to these filmmakers that addresses socioeconomic status. This archival challenge is further impacted by the fact that most regional film archives place precedence on films (i.e. which usually correspond to a geographical collecting remit) over filmmakers and that characteristics such as gender and class are rarely mentioned.

My approach seeks to recentre filmmakers in discussions of their work, addressing the challenges of a filmcentric model. I expand upon the existing case studyled biographical method by taking a more expansive approach – surveying and profiling the amateur film collection of Wessex Film & Sound Archive (WFSA) and identifying over 320 named filmmakers, including more than double the number of women that were known about before this study was undertaken. Through the construction of biographical profiles and by designating ISCO08 occupational codes according to this enhanced biographical information I demonstrate how socioeconomic status and gender of filmmakers can become an important aspect of our interpretation of the collection.

My approach provides evidence for amateur filmmakers spanning a far broader spectrum of society than previously acknowledged, women among them. However, telling these stories is not straight forward and the archive itself presents considerable challenges to making the work of women and lower income filmmakers visible. My findings and the method through which they came to light has the potential to disrupt our perception of the amateur filmmaking populace, and to prompt us to ask more direct questions about what has made it into the archive and why.

Biography
Zoë is final year PGR in film at the University of Southampton and also works as Film Curator at Wessex Film and Sound Archive in Winchester, UK. Her research seeks to explore gender and class in the amateur film collection of Wessex Film and Sound Archive (WFSA) between the years of 19201950. Zoë seeks to explore how issues of visibility, attribution and representation impact on our understanding of this regional collection and how this can serve to contribute to a wider view of amateur filmmaking in the UK. Zoë has a background in historic textiles and dress and in particular the interaction between gender, socioeconomics and lived experience, as depicted in amateur film.

At the University of Southampton Zoë has taught on the MA Film, MA Film and Cultural Management and on the MA Global Media Management. She has been involved in a number of UoS research projects including with the Social Practices Lab at Winchester School of Art, and ‘Investigating Incel Identity’ with Languages, Cultures and Linguistics. She is currently providing research assistance on the AHRC funded ‘Women in Focus’ project at the University of East Anglia. Zoë was the conference organiser for a major international conference in June 2022, hosted by the International Centre for Film Research celebrating the centenary of 9.5mm film, and is currently coediting an anthology on this topic with Dr Annamaria MotrescuMayes of University of Cambridge. Zoë was a finalist in the 2023 3MT challenge, representing the Faculty of Arts and Humanities at the university final.