Filmmaking and Transfilming

Keywords: film, filmmaking, creative research methods, epistemology, participatory practice, decolonising the academy
Session Type: Virtual Paper Abstract
Day: Tuesday
Session Start / End Time: 3/1/2022 02:00 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada)) - 3/1/2022 03:20 PM (Eastern Time (US & Canada))
Room: Virtual 43

Abstract

Growing interest in more creative research methods in the academy during the Covid pandemic has coincided with the increasing reliance on online technologies to deliver teaching and carry out research: at the same time as travel restrictions mean that geographers in the global north have become increasingly reliant on collaborations with local populations who are already based in the place of study.
Film is a dominant language in digital media – so it’s not surprising that mastering the the visual would appeal, helping to ease the flow and expand the reach of knowledge production. But does film as a method also have potential for the marginalised to challenge centuries of exclusion?

In this paper I will explore the potential for filmmaking as a tool for challenging epistemic injustice in the academy - through reflection on recent filmmaking projects in the UK and Egypt. In each situation I will examine what impact making a film played in reconfiguring the relationship between the researcher and the researched as well as what kind of different knowledge was produced as a result of the film and the filmmaking process.