Projects per year
Personal profile
Biography
Dr Chrishandra Sebastiampillai is Lecturer in Film, Television and Screen Studies at Monash University Malaysia. She completed her PhD in Film and Television at Monash University, exploring a nationally specific form of stardom in Philippine cinema - the ‘love team’, or the film couple in the early 1970s, a period that coincided with the early stages of Martial Law.
This research builds on her earlier Honours dissertation, which examined a contemporary love team in popular Philippine cinema. Her research on Southeast Asian stardom is ongoing, with a recent paper that investigates Henry Golding’s transnational mixed-race Asian identity in his fledgling career. Currently, she is conducting research on representations of Malaysian heritage houses on screen and the potential of film-induced tourism related to these films and TV series.
She teaches Southeast Asian Cinema at Monash, a unit that focuses on the established and emerging cinemas in the region in addition to Film, Television and Screen Studies: Approaches, an introductory course to the major.
Research interests
Her research interests include film stardom and celebrity, representations of race and identity in cinema, Philippine cinema and Southeast Asian cinema.
She is particularly interested in how Southeast Asian cinemas have distinct identities while still sharing broad themes across the region that include the struggle for independence, reflecting on colonial histories, building national identities in the aftermath of colonization, and representations of modern individuals that engage with questions of tradition in Southeast Asian societies.
Monash teaching commitment
Before joining Monash University Malaysia as a full time lecturer, Chrishandra tutored and lectured extensively within the Film and Communication majors since 2014. For Film Television and Screen Studies (FTVSS), she teaches an introductory course in addition to a third year unit on Southeast Asian cinema. She also lectured for a Masters unit in Communication titled ‘Celebrity, Fashion and Publicity’, and was a sessional lecturer in Sunway University.
Over the years, she has tutored for a range of FTVSS subjects including Film Studies: Forms and Approaches, stardom and celebrity, and film genre. For Communication, she has tutored subjects on communication policy, media, culture and power, and an introductory unit on communication technologies and practices.
Chrishandra believes that teaching should be simple and relatable - that even difficult concepts can be made accessible by using examples that are relevant to the audience. This has in the past included using memes about Captain America to teach the liberal democratic approach to culture, and stick figures to illustrate Althusser’s concept of interpellation.
Expertise related to UN Sustainable Development Goals
In 2015, UN member states agreed to 17 global Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, protect the planet and ensure prosperity for all. This person’s work contributes towards the following SDG(s):
Education/Academic qualification
Film and Television, Doctor of Philosophy, MONASH UNIVERSITY
Award Date: 21 Aug 2019
Film and Television, Honours Degree of Bachelor of Arts, MONASH UNIVERSITY
Award Date: 23 Nov 2014
Communications and International Studies, Bachelor of Arts, MONASH UNIVERSITY
Award Date: 17 Nov 2012
Research area keywords
- Film Studies
- Television Studies
- Star Studies
- Southeast Asian Cinema
- Philippine cinema
Projects
- 1 Active
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Digital Technologies as a New Agenda and Mediator of Public Diplomacy: Fostering Korea-Southeast Asia Collaboration
Kim, T. (Primary Chief Investigator (PCI)), Chien Aun, K. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Bächtold, S. (Chief Investigator (CI)), Baulch, E. (Chief Investigator (CI)) & Sebastiampillai, C. (Chief Investigator (CI))
1/01/25 → 31/12/25
Project: Research
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[Re]Representing the Batang Kali massacre
Sebastiampillai, C., 2025, The Malayan Emergency in Film, Literature and Art: Cultural Memory as Historical Other. Driskell, J., Rutkowski, M. W. & Ng, A. H. S. (eds.). 1st ed. London UK: Bloomsbury Academic, p. 163-183 21 p.Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (Book) › Research › peer-review
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Stardom, Film Couples and Love Teams in 1970s Philippine Cinema
Sebastiampillai, C., 2024, 1st ed. Edinburgh UK: Edinburgh University Press. 238 p. (International Film Stars)Research output: Book/Report › Book › Research › peer-review
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One More Second Chance: Love Team Longevity and Utility in the Era of the Television Studio
Sebastiampillai, C., Apr 2022, Film Stardom in South East Asia. Driskell, J. (ed.). Edinburgh UK: Edinburgh University Press, p. 166-181 16 p. (International Film Stars).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (Book) › Research › peer-review
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Crazy Rich Eurasians: white enough to be acceptable, Asian enough to be an asset
Sebastiampillai, C., 12 Apr 2021, In: Celebrity Studies. 12, 2, p. 219-233 15 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › Research › peer-review
3 Citations (Scopus) -
Nora Aunor vs Ferdinand Marcos: popular youth films of 1970s Philippine cinema
Sebastiampillai, C., 2020, Southeast Asia on Screen: From Independence to Financial Crisis (1945-1998). Khoo, G. C., Barker, T. & Ainslie, M. J. (eds.). 1st ed. Amsterdam Netherlands: Amsterdam University Press, p. 215-232 18 p. (Asian Visual Cultures).Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (Book) › Research › peer-review
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2023 Seoul National University Asia Center Humanities Week Event: Dungsil-Dungsil AsIA Culture Festival: Malaysia Video Exhibition
Sebastiampillai, C. (Director)
2 Nov 2023Activity: Community Talks, Presentations, Exhibitions and Events › Performance/exhibition
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ThinkCity Institute Heritage Symposium & Workshop
Chrishandra Sebastiampillai (Session chair)
15 Jan 2022Activity: Participating in or organising an event types › Contribution to workshop, seminar, course
Press/Media
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[문화정책/이슈] 서울대학교와 모나쉬대학교가 공동 주최한 '말레이시아 영상 문화제' ([Cultural Policy/Issue] ‘Malaysia Film Culture Festival’ co-hosted by Seoul National University and Monash University)
6/11/23
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Article/Feature
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Research at School of Arts and Social Sciences, Monash University Malaysia: Tangible Cinematic Heritage
13/05/23
1 item of Media coverage
Press/Media: Other
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Malaysia’s Heritage Landmarks on International Screens
Chrishandra Sebastiampillai & May Ting Beh
1/12/21
1 Media contribution
Press/Media: Article/Feature