Samantha Da Silva Diefenthaeler

Samantha da Silva Diefenthaeler holds a PhD in Communication from Universitat Pompeu Fabra (2024), awarded Cum Laude with International Mention and funded by the FI-AGAUR fellowship. Her doctoral dissertation, forthcoming as a monograph with Aldea Global (2026, Sello de Calidad en Edición Académica (CEA-APQ)), focuses on female comic roles in early cinema, offering a critical rereading of a field largely dominated by male-centered narratives. Her research lies at the intersection of literary and film theory, semiotics, and gender studies, spanning from female representations in the early years of cinema to contemporary constructions of femininity. Her scientific production reflects a strong commitment to feminist media analysis and to the critical reassessment of cultural history. She has published in high-impact journals such as International Journal of Film and Media Arts (Q2), and Galactica Media: Journal of Media Studies (Q2). She is also the author of book chapters with prestigious publishers such as Cátedra (Q1) and McGraw Hill (Q1). Her profile combines fundamental research with social transfer, as evidenced by her forthcoming report for the Institut d’Estudis Catalans on the media representation of immigration, her participation in cultural dissemination (Diari de Barcelona, 2023) and her participation as juri on APEXART New York (2025). Her career has a strong international dimension: she has presented papers at major conferences in Europe and Latin America on gender performativity, female desire, and cinematic. She carried out a research stay at CICANT–Universidade Lusófona (Portugal, 2021), under the supervision of Carla Cerqueira, which resulted in joint publications and the consolidation of institutional links within the FilmEU consortium. As an immigrant researcher from Brazil, her transnational perspective has fostered the development of academic networks with Latin American institutions. In terms of academic service, she acts as a reviewer for WoS- and Scopus-indexed journals (Comunicació. Revista de Recerca i d’Anàlisi, Galactica Media, Open Science Journal, Comparative Cinema) and has been part of organizing committees of international conferences (UPF, 2022–2025). Her commitment to gender equity in media extends beyond academia, as shown by her role as jury member at the Porto Femme International Film Festival. As an educator, she has taught courses at Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, and ESCAC, integrating theoretical frameworks with practical and innovative tools. She further enriches her teaching experience through cultural training activities linked to the MACBA Collection. She is a native speaker of Portuguese and Spanish, with C1 proficiency in English and Catalan, which enables her to foster global collaborations and to consolidate international research agendas in film, gender, and cultural studies. Also a member of international and national networks such as AsECA (Argentine Association of Film and Audiovisual Studies), the Women’s Film and Television History Network (UK/Ireland), and SURCOS (Spain).