An insight into film media in development

Film is a powerful tool to build bridges between cultures and societies, and also within societies. It captures people’s lives, realities, hopes and fears. It can give them a voice and a platform. Through film, people can be moved and inspired to act on urgent social issues faced by their own and other communities. The process of making films can liberate and empower the makers.

This discussion-based seminar will explore different applications of film in social development: as a campaigning tool; as documentation; and as an empowering tool through the participative processes of film-making. It will draw on a variety of short clips from the UK and overseas taken from the work of Dominique Chadwick, a Cambridge-based practitioner in film and development. The clips will be used to stimulate discussion on a range of themes such as development process, power relations, and the role of the external film-maker.

Examples of Dominique’s work can be seen at www.filmafrica.net/

The event is run in conjunction with The Humanitarian Centre and presented by CRASSH as part of the University of Cambridge Festival of Ideas.