Bandung, 9 November 2026 - On Friday, 6 November 2026, UPI’s English Language and Literature Study Program held another public lecture, titled Decoding the Frame: Methodologies and Practical Strategies for Researching Films, with Prof. Anton Sutandio, S.S., M.Hum., Ph.D. of Maranatha Christian University as the speaker. The lecture was attended by 41 participants: fifth- and seventh-semester undergraduate students of UPI’s English Language and Literature Study Program and master’s students of UPI’s linguistics study program.
The event opened with remarks from the Head of UPI’s English Language and Literature Study Program, Dr. Budi Hermawan, M.P.C., who hoped the activity would provide insight into film research, an area of growing interest among the program’s students. The moderator, Dr. Nia Nafisah, S.S., M.Pd., who teaches Film Studies, then briefly introduced the main speaker, Prof. Anton Sutandio, S.S., M.Hum., Ph.D. Prof. Anton Sutandio, S.S., Ph.D. is among the few film experts in literary studies in Indonesia and has published numerous books and scholarly works in reputable journals in this field.
The lecture began with Prof. Anton distributing a short questionnaire to assess participants’ understanding of film and film studies. After briefly discussing the varied responses, he began his presentation with an overview of the field he studies, horror films. He then explained the brief history of film studies before turning to the core material: film analysis methodologies, the main elements needed to analyze a film, and how to present the results of that analysis.
Observing that more students are choosing film analysis for their final projects, Prof. Anton emphasized, “Analyzing a film means doing twice the work. Make sure you choose it because you genuinely like film, not because you do not want to read novels.” Film analysis involves two stages: 1) analyzing the film’s narrative text; and 2) analyzing its cinematography and mise-en-scene. Thus, students must analyze not only issues through the lens of cultural studies or other literary theories, but also the film’s cinematic elements as data.
After the presentation, a question-and-answer session gave students an opportunity to ask more about film studies, particularly those interested in making film analysis the subject of their final projects. As a token of appreciation, Prof. Anton gave books he had written to participants who took the initiative to ask questions.
Before the event ended, Prof. Anton again advised students not to overthink the start of their writing or worry too much about the theories they might need later. “Just write, because it is the beginning of your research.”
The lecture concluded with closing remarks from the master of ceremonies and a group documentation session. The event is expected to help students better understand film studies, especially how to conduct film analysis, so they can apply it in their future final projects.
(report by Alya Zafira)
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