John Bright Mann is a filmmaker whose work reflects a thematic concern for a concept of home, begun with his dissertation, A Phenomenological Inquiry into a Concept of Home. His documentaries include "Shelter: Conversations with Homeless Men", "Nicodemus", "Locust Point" (fully funded by ITVS), and "Running to Keep from Falling". These were followed by "if...then..." a personal essay film. His recent projects have been dance for the camera projects and include "It Goes Without Saying", "Flight", "breathe in/breathe out", and "Thrown". He serves as director, cinematographer, editor, and composer for the projects. His films have been presented in domestic and international festivals including Black Maria Film Festival, Richmond International Film Festival, Athens International Film Festival, Inshadow Film Festival (Lisbon), Ethnografilm Festival (Paris), and Screendance Festival (Scotland).

Professor Mann’s academic interests center around his work with existential phenomenology. He has been persistently interested in the thoughts of Martin Heidegger and Maurice Merleau-Ponty. More recently he has also been exploring the thoughts of Jean Baudrillard, Paul Virlio, and Marc Auge. Their work, along with the poetry of Rainer Maria Rilke, infiltrate almost all of his courses.