Skip to main content
SFU Staff
Communications and Events Coordinator

Photo of Novia Chen
"She decided to pursue a doctoral degree to further inform the ways in which her position negotiates gender politics, representation, and feminist film criticism and theory."

Dr. Novia Chen is receiving her doctoral degree in Gender, Sexuality, and Women's Studies (GSWS)! Before joining GSWS, Novia worked as a film/video production instructor, filmmaker, and festival coordinator. 

“I was fortunate to have some of my works screened at international film festivals and women’s film festivals. However, after one screening of my documentary short, Now He is a She (2010), a film that explores the subjectivity, sexuality and familial relationships of a male-to-female transgender math teacher in Taiwan, there was a backlash from queer audiences that expressed disappointment in seeing the director distract and decentralize queer subjectivities through the victimization of her heterosexual partner. This incident enabled me to reflect upon my positionality as a filmmaker.”

She decided to pursue a doctoral degree to further inform the ways in which her position negotiates gender politics, representation, and feminist film criticism and theory. 

“I came across Dr. Helen Leung’s profile and I was immediately (and have been) inspired by her expertise, scholarly practices, and interdisciplinary frameworks in her research. I was more than thrilled when I was admitted to the PhD program.”

Novia’s dissertation is titled “Documentary as Alternative Practice: Situating Contemporary Documentary Female Filmmakers in Sinophone Cinemas.” In her thesis, she examines the local and global impact on female documentary filmmakers in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the PRC since the 1980s. 

“I address the issue of minoritization in each region and explore the ways in which women filmmakers adjust their modes of production while continuing in their works to resist dominant ideologies that have shaped mainstream national/regional film culture. I bring attention to the heterogeneity of female documentarians in the three regions and argue that women’s cultural production foregrounds the local community networks that contest and intervene in the masculinist and nationalist cultural production.”

Novia is currently working as a sessional lecturer at the Kwantlen Polytechnic University and the University of British Columbia Okanagan. Aside from teaching, she hopes to develop community engagement skills and be more involved in the local film scene, activism and organizing. “When possible, I like to dream about developing a multi-leveled course titled Feminist Filmmaking to be taught at different levels in various institutions.”


This story was originally published on the Gender Sexuality, and Women's Studies website on October 6, 2021.

SFU Staff
Communications and Events Coordinator
visibility  53
Oct 6, 2021

You Might Like These... Professional Development, Graduate Students

SFU graduation
Applying to Graduate School: A Students Guide

Someone once said that you should write about what you know. So when I was asked by one of the Peer Education Coordinators to write a career-related blog for their website, I felt compelled to write about the process of applying for graduate school, as I am currently applying for several schools myself.

Ryan Schmidt
Treaty Negotiations with INAC

Being an arts and social sciences student means having a vast variety of career options open to us. One of them being a treaty negotiator at Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada (INAC)! Read Ryan's blog to find out more about what this position entails. 

Autumn staring out into the distance, with a view of Peruvian mountains in the background
Scholarly Adventures in Peru

Q  & A's with Autumn Mochinski, a student who participated in a funded  international placement with the PAHO/ WHO to prepare an assessment of social  determinants and health and Tuberculosis in Lima, Peru.

You Might Like These... Graduate Students

a SFU graduate during convocation holding her diploma
Go Fund Your Graduate Degree – A Guide to Five Academic Sources of Funding

The prospect of pursuing a graduate degree can be hampered by the inability to fund such studies. Srijani discusses five strategies that can help you pay for a graduate degree without breaking into your bank account!

Photo of David
Pursuing Grad School With a Backpack Full of Life Experience

After enduring a zoom-mediated MBA, David Whiffin moved to Vancouver, rediscovered his love for the outdoors and catalyzed a career change.

animation of graduation cap
Is Grad School the Right Next-Step?

If you are about to finish your undergraduate degree, you might be wondering if you should go to grad school. But how do you know if grad school is right for you? Srijani Datta,  breaks it down.