Collaborative filmmaking has been viewed as a great method for gathering first-hand research data, specifically in communities. On Wednesday, April 3, Sara Baumann, an assistant professor at the Department of Behavioral Community Health Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh School of Public Health, provided examples of three pilot studies that followed women and children to understand their beliefs and rituals regarding different topics.
Baumann displayed her passion for her studies as she introduced herself to the audience. While her career is not centered in anthropology, Baumann said anthropology is her “sister discipline” and it has set a foundation for the work she’s doing now.
The first pilot study that was introduced took place in Madagascar. In this study, participants drew what they perceived as violence occurring in their lives. Through their work, they were able to determine what needed to change in their lives and what didn’t.
“It’s ‘who are we telling stories about, and who are we telling stories for,’” said Baumann when introducing the different research methods used in the presentation.
Partnering with Projet Juene, Baumann and other researchers used art as a way to determine how the young participants understood empowerment. During the presentation, an audience member raised the question: “Why was the age group specifically seven-year-olds?” Baumann explained that the researchers wanted an age group that could understand what empowerment meant, and seven-year-olds were at an age where they could determine for themselves what that looked like. At the end of the study, participants gathered their artwork and reflected on what they drew.
In Nepal, Baumann conducted another study involving collaborative filmmaking. In the study, participants filmed chosen portions of their lives regarding a topic the researchers selected. For this study, Baumann wanted to learn about Chhaupadi, a menstrual seclusion practice followed in far-west Nepal.
During this time, women sleep in menstrual sheds and are supposed to avoid certain things such as touching people, going out in public or eating food. According to Baumann’s presentation, 91% of women in Nepal are reported to practice menstrual restrictions. While Chhaupadi was criminalized in 2017, people still practice it. Audience members of the presentation questioned: “who would be criminally responsible?” Baumann was unsure as well, because it depends if the women are the ones making the decision or not.
By using collaborative filmmaking as their research method, Baumann and her associates received information that could be difficult to collect via interviews. The participants, seven girls aged 16 to 18 years old, were given tools to shoot their own footage over 21 days of what they do during this time. Some footage included rituals, cleansing and seclusion.
Once the footage was complete, the researchers and participants gathered to analyze their films. This included what they saw, thought and felt about the films, said Baumann. After this, they were able to choose if they would like to share their footage with their community. While there were technical glitches because of a storm, Baumann said they didn’t mind, they were happy to see what they made regardless of what issues the storm was causing.
“This collective experience is very important in the work that we do,” said Baumann about the collaborative filmmaking experience. “There is power in numbers, there is power in a collective voice.”
After the collaborative filmmaking study, Baumann said they attempted the study again in Nepal, but with grandmothers as participants. To their surprise, the grandmothers were eager to be a part of the study. They believed it was because of the relationship they developed with the community since the last study, said Baumann.
“This study is a great example of continuous consent,” commented Urvi Kaul, a six-semester anthropology graduate student, on the collaborative filmmaking method.
As time was ending, Baumann introduced the last research method conducted in Nepal. The study focused on human-centered design, an approach to solving problems at the center of human experiences. Consisting of 10 women, the group engaged in discussions on Chhaupadi. These discussions involved topics like how Chhaupadi can be harmful but also why might people want to engage in the practice.
While the discussion could have gone on longer, time flew much faster than everyone expected. Baumann encouraged guests to look at her website, Collaborative Filmmaking. On the site is a free handbook on collaborative filmmaking, the method, reports and Baumann’s portfolio.