Responsive and responsible methodologies. Emplacing care with collaborative filmmaking

Abstract

This paper is a response to the call for more caring kinds of scholarly transactions that acknowledge our interdependencies. We delve into collaborative filmmaking as a method that emplaces care in a range of different ways and that highlights researcher responsibility in the fieldwork. Recognising that discussions on care and responsibility often remain abstract, we ground our exploration in a recent collaborative filmmaking research project to argue that collaborative filmmaking can challenge researcher positionality and foster a deeper understanding of power dynamics in research practice and process. Starting from existing literature that tends to oversimplify research processes due to the pressure to present ‘knowledge’, we highlight the discrepancies between polished academic presentations and the intricate and sometimes contradictory realities of fieldwork. This paper offers insights for activists and other scholars in feminist and queer geographies, emphasising the role of care in shaping academic research.