Paul Willemen (17 August 1944 – 13 May 2012) was a Belgian-born British professor, author and essayist. According to the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

, he was regarded as "a pioneering figure in the revolution in thinking about the cinema that began in the 1970s". His essays and books have dealt with cinema. Born into a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

-speaking family in Belgium, Willemen travelled to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1968 to teach about film at the BFI Education Department and the Society for Education in Film and Television. According to the

Society for Cinema and Media Studies The Society for Cinema and Media Studies (formerly the Society for Cinema Studies) is an organization of professors and scholars. Its home office is at the University of Oklahoma, but it has members throughout the world. SCMS holds an annual confer ...

, he played a key role in the 1970s and 1980s to "define the subject area in the nited Kingdomand also elpto shape and mould the subject's theoretical terrain and institutional structures". He served as a professor for the

Edinburgh Napier University , mottoeng = Without knowledge, everything is in vain , established = 1992 – granted University status 1964 – Napier Technical College , type = Public , academic_staff = 802 , administrative_staff = 562 , chancellor = Will Whitehorn , ...

and the

Ulster University sco, Ulstèr Universitie , image = Ulster University coat of arms.png , caption = , motto_lang = , mottoeng = , latin_name = Universitas Ulidiae , established = 1865 – Magee College 1953 - Magee Un ...

. Willemen was married to Roma Willemen and has a daughter, named Nikki. He lived in London until his death in 2012 by cancer.

Bibliography

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References

British essayists British writers 1944 births 2012 deaths {{UK-writer-stub