Skip to Main Content

The University of Tennessee

University Libraries

Frequently Used Tools:




Cinema Studies Subject Guide

Indexes to Cinema Literature (Finding Articles)

Cinema articles can be found in a wide variety of interdisciplinary periodical literature, from the popular to the scholarly. Below are some key indexes to periodical literature that can help you locate cinema / film articles. If you have any questions about using these resources or evaluating scholarly/popular articles, please contact Jennifer Beals, Subject Librarian for Cinema Studies or contact our reference department.

  • Academic Search Premier
    Coverage: 1975 -
  • This resource contains full text for 3,956 scholarly publications with more than 100 going back to 1975 or further. Academic Search Premier includes PDF images for the great majority of journals; many of these PDFs are native (searchable) or scanned-in-color.

  • Art Full Text
    Coverage: 1984- Present
  • Art Full Text is a bibliographic database that indexes and abstracts articles from periodicals published throughout the world. Full-text coverage for selected periodicals is also included. Periodical coverage includes English-language periodicals, yearbooks, and museum bulletins, as well as periodicals published in French, Italian, German, Japanese, Spanish, Dutch, and Swedish. In addition to articles, Art Full Text indexes reproductions of works of art that appear in indexed periodicals. Indexing coverage begins 1984; abstracting coverage begins with January 1994. The abstracts range from 50 to 300 words and describe the content and scope of the source articles. Full-text coverage begins in 1997.

  • Arts & Humanities Citiation Index (Selective Title List)
    Coverage: 1980 - Present
  • The ISI® Arts & Humanities Citation Index provides access to current and retrospective bibliographic information and cited references found in nearly 1,130 of the world's leading arts & humanities journals.

  • Art Index Retrospective (Selective Title List)
    Coverage: 1929-1984
  • Art Index Retrospective, produced by The H.W. Wilson Company, is a bibliographic database that cumulates citations to Art Index volumes 1-32 of the printed index published between 1929-1984. The database cites articles from periodicals published throughout the world. Periodical coverage includes English-language periodicals, yearbooks, and museum bulletins, as well as periodicals published in French, Italian, German, Spanish, and Dutch. In addition to articles, Art Index Retrospective indexes reproductions of works of art that appear in indexed periodicals.

  • Communication & Mass Media Complete
  • This database is comprised of two popular databases in the fields of communication and mass media studies -- CommSearch (formerly produced by the National Communication Association (NCA), and Mass Media Articles Index (formerly produced by Pennsylvania State University).

  • Expanded Academic ASAP
    Coverage: 1980 - Present
  • Contains citations and full-text of journal, newspaper, and periodical articles. Approximately 50% of the database's contents is full-text. While not covering any single discipline in great depth, Expanded Academic ASAP can be used for quick research in any of a number of subject areas.

  • Essay and General Literature Index
  • This unique reference offers precise access to nearly 65,000 essays contained in some 5,300 anthologies and collections—a wealth of information that might be otherwise hidden away in your library. Some 300 single and multi-author collections are indexed annually, plus more than 20 selected annuals and serials. Coverage spans the entire range of the humanities and social sciences, including literary works, art history, drama, and film.

  • Film Literature Index Online
    Online Coverage up to 2002 (no full-text)
  • The Film Literature Index (FLI) annually indexes 150 film and television periodicals from 30 countries cover-to-cover and 200 other periodicals selectively for articles on film and television. The periodicals range from the scholarly to the popular. More than 2,000 subject headings provide detailed analysis of the articles.

  • Film Literature Index (Print)
    Coverage: 1972 - Present
    Ref PN1993.F453

  • International Index to Film/TV Periodicals (La Federation Internationale des Archives du Film [FIAF])
    Coverage: 1972 - Present
  • The FIAF International FilmArchive Database is published by the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) and contains several databases: the International Index to Film Periodicals , the International Index to Television Periodicals , the List of Periodicals Indexed ,the Treasures from the Film Archives , the Bibliography of FIAF Members Publications and the International Directory of Film and TV Documentation Collections.

  • International Index to the Peforming Arts (Selective Title List)
    Coverage 1988 - Present (Mostly citations, some full text)

  • MLA International Bibliography
    Coverage: 1963 - Present
  • The MLA International Bibliography , produced by the Modern Language Association of America, consists of bibliographic records pertaining to literature, language, linguistics, and folklore and includes coverage from 1963 to the present. The MLA International Bibliography provides access to scholarly research in nearly 4,000 journals and series. It also covers relevant monographs, working papers, proceedings, bibliographies, and other formats. Covers cinema and film journals.

  • The New Film Index; A Bibliography of Magazine Articles in English, 1930-1970
    New York, Dutton, 1975
    Ref PN1993.M32 1975

Return to the Cinema Studies Subject Guide home page


Cinema Studies Subject Guide

Contact the Cinema Studies Subject Librarian

Alan Wallace
awallac5@utk.edu