The XII Course/Workshop on Audiovisual Anthropology and Social Documentary, of a theoretical/practical nature, is aimed at audiovisual creators, filmmakers and communicators who want to enrich their projects through anthropological theory and practice, as well as anthropologists and people with studies in the area of ​​humanities and social sciences who seek to incorporate audiovisual tools into their research.

From its origins, anthropology has used photography and film to create and transmit images of the cultures studied. This has allowed for the development of audiovisual anthropology, a discipline that uses images as:

• Research and intercultural dialogue resource.
• Medium for the transmission of ethnographic experiences.
• Generator of anthropological knowledge.

The production of anthropological videos can be a support for the reflection-action of popular education, understood as an identity reappropriation around the production of autonomous and self-managed culture.

Furthermore, throughout the history of cinema, numerous documentary filmmakers have focused on making films to denounce social problems, telling real stories that move, mobilize, and promote the fight against inequality. The goal of these filmmakers was, and continues to be, to improve society through their films.

Through the viewing and analysis of the works of Haddon, Spencer, Flaherty, Vertov, Ruttmann, Mead/Bateson, Rouch, Gardner, Marshall, Worth, Pennebaker, Asch, Chagnon, MacDougall, Varda, Minh-Ha, Achbar/Abbott, Moore, Expósito and Pancorbo, we will reflect on the history and characteristics of audiovisual anthropology and social documentary.

The course will be taught by Javier Expósito Martín , professor of Audiovisual Anthropology at various Chilean universities, and will include a Master Class led by Luis Pancorbo, RTVE documentary filmmaker and pioneer of ethnographic cinema in Spain.

This course will have a theoretical and practical character and will be organized into 2 parts:

First part of the course

The beginnings of audiovisual anthropology and ethnographic cinema.

Audiovisual narrative: types of shots, framing, narratives and types of editing through the analysis of anthropological and social documentaries).

Classification of ethnographic cinema.

Master Class by Luis Pancorbo, a pioneer of anthropological cinema in Spain.

Second part of the course

Audiovisual anthropological research plan.

Fieldwork: Ethnographic photography and video practice.

The practices will be analyzed and the steps to follow in the making of a social documentary of an anthropological nature will be addressed.

Objectives

• To introduce the necessary tools for the production of an ethnographic-social documentary, from description to cultural and social interpretation.
• To share with individuals, communities and groups how to use audiovisual tools, so that they can self-manage their production and record their own documentaries.
• To show students, in a theoretical and practical way, the ways of collaborating with the protagonists of an ethnographic-social documentary and the classification of anthropological audiovisuals.
• Study the ethnofilmmakers and documentary filmmakers who have made important contributions to the history of audiovisual anthropology.
• Analyze documentaries with an anthropological and social basis.
• To train students in the use of audiovisual media. These are powerful tools for data collection, cultural interaction, interpretation, and the presentation of research.
• Reflecting on the potential of documentary film as a tool to raise awareness, sensitize, agitate and mobilize society.
• Develop a critical analysis of the use of audiovisual language in the Social Sciences.

The course will be taught by Javier Expósito Martín , PhD in History and Archaeology from the Complutense University of Madrid, whose doctoral thesis is titled “Diaguita Awakening: Ethnogenesis of a Chilean Indigenous People.” He completed a Diploma in Visual Anthropology and Webnography at the Department of Social and Cultural Anthropology of the UNED (National University of Distance Education). Previously, he earned a Master's degree in History and Anthropology of the Americas from the Complutense University of Madrid and a Bachelor's degree in History, specializing in Anthropology and Archaeology, from the same university. He has worked on issues related to identity development with Quechua, Muchik, Diaguita, and Afro-descendant indigenous communities. Since 2006, he has produced numerous ethnographic and social documentaries. He has also dedicated over ten years to teaching, giving courses in Audiovisual Anthropology at universities in Chile, Costa Rica, Spain, and Peru. Currently, he works in Chile as a university professor of different subjects in the fields of Anthropology, History and Archaeology.

Information and registration

Dates : January 26-30

Places available : 25 (minimum 10 people registered for the workshop to take place).

Information : candela.perez@cbamadrid.es

Image credit: Film still Reassemblage (1982) by filmmaker and theorist Trinh T. Minh-ha.