Community Filmmaking for Gender Equality in the Pacific

By. Dr. Leshu Torchin

Since I arrived at St Andrews in 2007, I’ve been looking for an opportunity to collaborate with Social Anthropology to continue the dynamic and exciting work I had the fortune to experience at NYU, as part of the Culture & Media programme run by Faye Ginsburg. Through a partnership with Dr Tony Crook, and a successful AHRC networking grant entitled ‘Exploring Participatory Film-Making as a Development Method to address Gender Inequality in the Pacific,’ this wish was realised in March 2018.

Joining the project were Pacific filmmakers Jackie Kauli (Queensland University of Technology, Australia) and Verena Thomas (University of Goroka, Papua New Guinea), and independent filmmakers Llane Munau (Bougainville, Papua New Guinea) and Steven Percival (Tiapapata Arts Centre, Samoa). Together we launched a roadshow which involved a symposium at the University of St Andrews (19-20/3), a workshop at the Horniman Museum in London, and meetings at the European Commission followed by European Commission InfoPoint presentation for International Cooperation and Development.

 

The project began with two questions: How can film be used to address gender-based violence in the Pacific? And: How can it be done in ways that are appropriate to the communities? While Dr Crook asked what anthropological knowledge of the Pacific can lend to these projects, I had the great pleasure of exploring topics that have been a longstanding part of my research: principally, how film constitutes understandings of human rights at multiple levels from international policy to local practice, and secondly, the role of film in activism and advocacy. My work has sought to flesh out the relationship of film and action, whilst recognising that multiple factors are at play in making a film work as witness and mobilising tool. This has involved a consideration of context as one reflects on rhetorically significant selections of images with audiences and intentions in mind, as well as a question of practice: What happens at levels of development, production, distribution, and exhibition to make a film have an effect?

 

The first day began with Kauli and Thomas presenting their initiatives which included Yumi Piksa (2010), Yumi Kirapim Senis, and Pawa Meri, all of which highlighted the ways process was as significant, if not more important, as the film itself. What was important, they noted, was approaching communities with respect, reciprocity and relationships; to value local knowledge, to collaborate on shared goals, and to give back—not just take images.

Llane too joined the presentation, sharing stories of strong women and leaders in their communities from her work for Pawa Meri. Llane mentioned too, her ongoing workshops which train young people to make films about issues they face.

To bring a different perspective and practice, Percival screened films he made of responses to his films about gender violence. Here, rural communities baulked at the top down demands for change, declaring women responsible for the violence they faced, and human rights the start of all problems. Percival’s films highlighted the need for reflection on working with communities, and one of the many ways human rights can be used to describe a region’s sense of its relationship to the world—as much as it can be a law to be implemented.

Later that afternoon, Scotland-based filmmakers and activists joined the discussion, showing the intersections and overlaps with the Pacific filmmakers. A network was forming. Noe Mendelle of the Scottish Documentary Institute presented on Syrian Stories, a collection of short films produced through workshops with Syrian filmmakers. What is involved, she asked, in facilitating the telling and distribution of other people’s stories?

Prof. Nick Higgins (University of the West Scotland, UK) discussed The New Ten Commandments, an omnibus film about human rights in Scotland for which he developed learning modules. Prof. Higgins also presented on We Are the Northern Lights (2013), a film produced through the mass participation of the Scottish public, uploading their short videos for editing and compilation, and The Colours of the Alphabet, a documentary which addresses the lack of access to education in one’s own language.

Kirsten MacLeod (Edinburgh Napier University, UK) screened clips of her own community media projects. Engaging with the pensioners of Govan, who produce crucial histories of the region, MacLeod deconstructs and reconstructs the past.

From the NGO LifeMosaic, Serge Martí and Gemma Seth-Smith discussed their challenges in working with a range of indigenous communities on land rights. Most striking was how the videos they produced became tools for communicating transnational indigenous solidarity, as well as strategy.

Rounding out the local filmmakers was Neil Montgomery. Montgomery screened clips from his film Penelopés, which is about the women in Andalucia, Spain who maintained the community when the men left the nation to find work.

The wealth of experience led to an exciting conversation that ended all too soon. The days that followed kept the discussions going. One question resonated though, particularly in the meetings that would occur at the European Commission: How could these projects get funding? Development agencies and NGOs can be keen to fund films but often with a focus on the product, rather than the process and the communities’ activities with film from development to exhibition.

To that end, we know what we need to do: Let funders and policy makers understand how useful the processes have been to capacity building and change, so perhaps they will support those dimensions in addition to films that may not look like what they expected.

Our presentation at the European Commission Infopoint can be seen here.