RAI Film Webinar 

A VIRTUAL SEMINAR BY THE ROYAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE

Friday 26 November 2021 at 4-6pm (BST)

Event takes place on Zoom.
Please register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUoduqhrzojHdJjrq-Du-kzgR4X0DSK_JnL 

Collaboration, co-creation, participation and the surrender of film authorship

Speaker: Karen Boswall, University of Sussex

How can the embodied knowledge of the men, women and children of the world be studied, recorded, filmed and shared by (and for) all, including those for whom it arguably matters most? In this seminar presentation and discussion Karen will explore her long search for effective collaborative methodologies in answer to this question. Through a series of clips from individually authored, co-created and co-authored films produced in Mozambique, Jordan and Nepal over twenty years, Karen will demonstrate some of the expected and unexpected benefits of embracing inclusive, intersectional, decolonial methodologies in ethnographic film production, and some of the challenges encountered (and overcome) along the way.

Bio

Karen Boswall is a filmmaker, ethnomusicologist and visual anthropologist. She lived and worked in Mozambique as a musician, journalist and documentary filmmaker between 1990 and 2007. Her award-winning films and radio documentaries explore the spiritual, cultural and environmental worlds of individuals and communities through their music and dance practices. Her films include individually authored and collaborative productions from Nicaragua (1984), UK (1986), Iraq (1993), Cuba (1995), Mozambique (1997-2018), Jordan (2014), Nepal (2016) and Brazil (2019). She has taught Visual Anthropology and Film and Television at the University of Kent (2008–2009), Canterbury Christ Church University (2010–2014), Manchester Metropolitan University (2015-2016) and the University of Sussex (2017 – 2019). She conducted her doctoral research in collaborative music research and film production in Mozambique and continues to use collaborative and decolonial audio-visual methodologies to support those working on improving their access to basic human rights in Mozambique, especially women and girls.