On Thursday, Jan. 15, a College of Humanities colloquium at BYU invited students and faculty to listen more closely to film.
The event featured Damien Pollard, a visiting lecturer in film from Northumbria University. His lecture was titled Voices in Stories and Stories in Voices: What Film Can Tell Us About Social Change.
His research examines how voices in cinema reveal political, cultural and social change. Focusing on Italian cinema and Ugandan microbudget filmmaking, the lecture demonstrated how sound and dubbing are not just technical choices but reflections of history, ideology and globalization.
Pollard said his overall argument is that voices diffuse like nature, serving as the cornerstone of a film’s acoustic aesthetic.
"The voice in a film embeds the commercial imperatives and in turn the social, political forces that underlie those imperatives into the aesthetic of the thought," Pollard said.
Dan Paul, a professor in BYU’s Department of French and Italian, attended the lecture.
“I teach Italian film, so I’m here to learn a new perspective about Italian cinema,” Paul said.
Daryl Lee, another professor in the Department of French and Italian, said the speaker’s focus on sound aligned with his academic interests.
“I teach film history and criticism, and I’m also interested in questions about sound," Lee said.
During the lecture, Pollard explained that voices in film are not just artistic elements but are also shaped by technology, labor and political conditions.
In Italian cinema, especially during the mid-20th century, films were commonly shot without live sound and later dubbed. This practice allowed films to be distributed across multiple countries and languages, particularly during a period of increased European co-productions.
The lecture discussed how dubbing supported international filmmaking but also reflected larger political and economic trends in postwar Europe, including cultural integration and commercial expansion.
The speaker also presented a second case study on Wakaliwood, a low-budget film collective based in Uganda. These films, often produced with extremely limited resources, use distinctive narration and sound practices that reflect local culture and economic realities.
According to the lecture, Wakaliwood provides an example of how sound continues to play a key role in storytelling across different global contexts.
The colloquium was part of the College of Humanities’ efforts to introduce students to current research and demonstrate the relevance of humanities scholarship.
By focusing on sound rather than visuals alone, the lecture encouraged attendees to consider new ways of analyzing film and understanding its connection to history and society.