Projects per year
Personal profile
Personal profile
Zhaoyu Zhu’s research is looking at Chinese film and media. His main expertise is film technology and its impact on filmmaking. His PhD thesis studies the global technology transfer behind the use of film technology in Maoist China. His research has been awarded the debut Screen Biannual Award in 2021 and Society for Cinema and Media Studies Katherine Singer Kovács Essay Award in 2022. Following his PhD thesis, his debut monograph Film Technology in Socialist Chinese Cinema: Cinematic Megamachine is published with Routledge in 2026. He also edits several books on East Asian filmmakers and global documentaries such as The Cinema of Ann Hui: Aesthetics, Gender, and Displacement, which is published with Bloomsbury in 2026.
In addition to his academic works, he has gained professional connections with Chinese film industries, film festivals, film-related media. As a reporter, he has written about film industries and film festivals on Australian journal Senses of Cinema, UK-Chinese Times (英中时报), and the Zhejiang Daily (浙江日报). He has also worked as jury members for the Cinemasia Film Festival (Netherlands), Mint Purple Film Festival (UK), the Ningbo Short Film Festival (China).
For UNNC students, Zhaoyu Zhu is the Career Officer of FHSS. If you have any question about your career or postgraduate study, feel free to drop me an email:)
Teaching
University of Nottingham Ningbo China:
Convenor of
Documentary and Reality (INCM3047)
Hollywood and Chinese Cinemas (INCM3088)
Teaching in
- Media and Society (INCM1031)
- Communication and Culture (INCM1030)
- Cultures of Everyday Life (INCM1033)
- Communication and Technology (INCM1032)
- Researching Communication 1(INCM2026)
- Media and Communication Theory (INCM4034)
- Storytelling and Video Production (INCM4112)
- Foundations of Screen Production (INCM4116)
- Virtual Production and Motion Capture (INCM4123)
- Studio II (INCM 4119)
NAA Programs:
Digital Media Production
Personal profile
Research Interest
Film/Media Technology
Chinese Cinema and Documentaries
Brand Communication
Chinese Youth Culture
Algorithmic Screen Media: TikTok and AI
ORCID
0000-0001-8904-6774
Education/Academic qualification
PhD, Film Studies Research, King's College London
1 Oct 2017 → 1 Mar 2022
Award Date: 1 Mar 2022
Master, Cinema Studies, New York University
Aug 2015 → May 2017
Award Date: 19 May 2017
Bachelor, Digital Film Technology, Beijing Film Academy
Sept 2011 → Jun 2015
Award Date: 4 Jun 2015
Disciplines
- Theatre Studies and Film Studies
Person Types
- Staff
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
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SDG 3 Good Health and Well-being -
SDG 4 Quality Education -
SDG 9 Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure -
SDG 15 Life on Land -
SDG 16 Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions -
SDG 17 Partnerships for the Goals
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Collaborations and top research areas from the last five years
Recent external collaboration on country/territory level. Dive into details by clicking on the dots or
Projects
- 1 Finished
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Building "Ningbo culture and tourism cross overseas social media" platform
Gilardi, F. (PI), Lam, C. (CoI), Ainslie, M. (CoI), Hao, L. (CoI), Zhu, Z. (CoI), Liu, C. (CoI), Hamilton, L. (CoI) & Kiwuwa, D. (CoI)
1/01/22 → 31/05/22
Project: Contract Projects › Horizontal-Ningbo Municipal Contract Projects
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Film Technology in Socialist Chinese Cinema: Cinematic Megamachine
Zhu, Z., 21 Jul 2026, (Accepted/In press) Routledge. 180 p.Research output: Book/Report › Book › peer-review
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The Cinema of Ann Hui: Aesthetics, Gender, and Displacement
Zhu, Z. (Editor), Fan, W. (Editor) & Cheng, X. (Editor), 9 Jul 2026, New York: Bloomsbury Academic. 328 p.Research output: Book/Report › Anthology › peer-review
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Did Madame Mao dream in Technicolor? Rethinking Cold War colour cinema through Technicolor's 'Chinese copy'
Dootson Sinclair, K. & Zhu, Z., 2020, In: Screen. 61, 03, p. 343-367 25 p.Research output: Journal Publication › Article › peer-review
7 Citations (Scopus) -
How does the Chinese smartphone brand attract New filmmakers to make films with their phones?
Zhu, Z., Fan, Y. & Zhao, B., 28 Jul 2025, In: Continuum.Research output: Journal Publication › Article › peer-review
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From live-streaming to memes: an exploratory study of the Chinese abstract culture as a structure of feeling among Chinese youth
Zhu, S., Zhu, Z. & Whyke, T. W., 31 Jul 2025, (Published Online) In: Journal of Youth Studies.Research output: Journal Publication › Article › peer-review