Suchergebnisse

This article analyses a series of 'Desiring China: Sexuality and Female Subjectivity' screening and discussion of Chinese independent documentary films at the University of Hong Kong in 2016. It explores a feminist positionality in Chinese independent documentary film to deal with privacy, gender, violence, and trauma: 1) filmmaker's position on the ethics of care and (intimate) solidarity with protagonists, 2) protagonist's position of confession and appeal in reclaiming autonomy from gender based violence and discrimination; 3) filmmaker's and protagonist's different positions on reducing documentary's negative impact on protagonist's personal life through controlling distribution, 4) evolving positions of protagonist and filmmaker on self-transformation and the re- open for screening, 5) activist position of representation as in politics and filmmaking's position of representation as in arts, and 6) tensions between theory and practice requires scholars, filmmakers, and activists to situate and contextualise ethics for discussion and practice.This article argues for the need to adopt a feminist ethics of care when producing, exhibiting, and critiquing documentaries about women and social margins in contemporary China. It promotes equal power relationship among documentary participants and innovation of cinematic language, to deal with ethical dilemmas and potential limitations of filmmaking and exhibiting Chinese independent documentary films.

Sy Taffel is a senior lecturer in media studies and co-director of the Political Ecology Research Centre at Massey University, Aotearoa New Zealand. He has published work on political ecologies of digital media, media and materiality, hacktivism, automation, and pervasive/locative media. He is the author of Digital Media Ecologies (Bloomsbury 2019) and a co-editor of Ecological Entanglements in the Anthropocene (Lexington, 2017 with Nicholas Holm).

From July 13th to the 30th 2012, I traveled to Cape Verde through the URI faculty-led study abroad program, visiting the islands of Santiago and São Vicente. There, I focused specifically on the history and politics of Cape Verde, as well as the scientific, cultural, economic, environmental, historical, and social importance of the oceans. The main course was AAF 390 Directed Study: Documentary film production of fishing industry and environmental sustainability. With the footage acquired from the trip, I have created a documentary film that portrays the situations within the fishing communities. Properly managing natural resources is crucial for Cape Verdeans. They must get the most use out of what little resources they have without being dependent on anyone else. The biggest resource for the archipelago of Cape Verde is the Atlantic Ocean. Because of its location, a major source of food as well employment that the islands have is fish. The fishermen of Cape Verde work diligently every day to provide food for their family, their community, as well as the rest of the country. The ocean and the fishing industry are precious aspects of the country that need protection and recognition. There are various issues throughout the nation that are hurting the fisheries. The best way to prevent the decay of the industry is through proper investment from the government and through agreements with other countries. Expansion of the industry depends on this financial investment into the maintenance of the local ships and processing plants. Negotiations with foreign markets and other fisheries will help build a better and more sustainable fishing economy. One of the subjects of the film focuses on meeting the fishermen organization of the Artisanal Fisheries as well as ones in the community of São Tome. This is an important aspect to the film because it captures the efforts of the fishermen as they discuss their work ethic, problems, and solutions they look forward to achieving. We also spent multiple days filming the fish market and touristic fisheries in São Vicente. There, we gathered numerous interviews with the men and women selling fish as well as fishermen coming in on their boats. There is a major focus on this section of the documentary, because it depicts the working environment of the daily procedures for a variety of people in the industry. I plan on continuing to create documentaries on subjects that promote positive social change. My documentary on the fisheries in Cape Verde sheds light on the overlooked struggles and hard work that the country is dealing with.