The Emotions of Others explores our understanding of the knowledge of emotions and their signature facial expressions. The documentary essay features a diverse range of filmed participants, combined with a conversation between a 'voice of doubt' and a 'voice of certainty'; a debate that questions whether emotional expression, either in the flesh or via representational media, is a reliable route to the knowledge of others' minds. The film includes examples of facial expressions in old master and contemporary paintings - from Simone Martini to Marlene Dumas - and film clips from F.W. Murnau, Sergio Leone, Jean-Luc Godard and Laurel & Hardy. A voiceover reads extracts from Charles Darwin's The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872). The film forms part of research undertaken by the Knowledge of Emotions project, at The University of Manchester.
