This month has seen some of the project participants drifting away from the weekly workshop session format we’ve employed up to this point. We have had to adjust our approach to focus more on one-to-one meetings with participants, either at the hospice or visiting participants at home. It remans an open question as to how much film material we will have to show at the end of the project!
Also in January, we have had one participant review their own footage, only to decide not to continue with the project. The film-making process – representing the self through film – proved too difficult, traumatic even, particularly with consideration to the public exhibition planned for the end of the project. We are currently in discussion with this participant regarding possible alternative approaches that may be less traumatic: anonymising footage, or changing the subject or focus of the film.
This moment in the project raises interesting questions about the potential benefits and/or dangers that accompany public displays of vulnerability. How can we minimise the risks of filming and exhibiting vulnerability?
Going forward, in tandem with continued workshops and one on one film-making sessions, the focus of the project will shift to the exhibition.
Adrian Banting