Michael Chanan is a documentary film maker who also writes on both film and music. His most recent film is 'The American Who Electrified Russia' (2009,105mns). His latest book, 'The Politics of Documentary', was published by the BFI in 2007. He has a range of special interests, including Latin American cinema, documentary, the film soundtrack, and the social history of music. In 2000, he was Visiting Professor in the Literature Program at Duke University, USA, and then joined the University of the West of England where he was Professor of Cultural Studies, 2002-2007.