Dr. James Rowlins left his native town of Brighton to study cinema in Paris, where he gained a love for cinema, especially the 1960s French New Wave. His passion for visual culture subsequently took him to the bright lights of Los Angeles, where he earned a doctorate at the University of Southern California. His specialisms include film noir, Jean-Luc Godard, political aesthetics and visual culture in the digital age. Dr. Rowlins has held teaching positions in Europe, America and Japan. As Senior Lecturer at the Singapore University of Technology and Design (established by MIT), he founded a Film Studies faculty that included both critical studies and production studies. He has published fiction and film criticism, and is also an active filmmaker. A short neo-noir that he directed, Monstrosity (2017), won more than 50 festival selections and prizes. Since returning to the UK in 2018, Dr. Rowlins has devoted his time and energies to developing Rocks Film Festivals.