The FILM AND DEATH project announces the launch of Film and Death: A Conceptual Knowledge Map.

Guided by the research question “How does film make us think about death?”, the map visualises a network of relations between films, filmmakers, formal strategies, concepts, and thematic subjects, highlighting their philosophical and analytical dimensions.

The map is organised around three primary domains — Concept, Form, and Subject — which structure the film-philosophical relations identified through analysis. Designed as a dynamic network rather than a hierarchical catalogue, it enables connections to emerge across domains, revealing patterns, affinities, and contrasts within a corpus of more than 200 works.

The dataset can be explored through two complementary visualisations:

Films Map — centred on individual works
Labels Map — centred on conceptual and analytical categories

Together, these views support research design, teaching, concept formation, and curatorial or critical work, enabling the tracing of conceptual and thematic connections across diverse film-philosophical contexts.

Access to the Films Map, centred on individual works

Access to the Labels Map, centred on conceptual and analytical categories

The dataset and accompanying methodological report are available here.

Instructions for using the conceptual knowledge map are available here.

The map is intended to support exploration, discussion, and further reflection on how cinema engages with death.

Authorship and contributions
Project conception and coordination: Susana Viegas
Research design and analytical development: Cátia Rodrigues, Lucas Ferraço Nassif, Marco Grosoli, Tiago Cravidão, Vasco Baptista Marques
Technical support and implementation: Francisco Gomes