Decolonizing ethnographic film archives

Abstract (English)

Over the past fifteen years, film has emerged as a significant focus of scholarly research in its role as cultural heritage (Hediger 2006; Gracy 2007; Frick 2011; Lenk 2011; Bohn 2013). Concurrently, since the “archival turn,” archives have played a central role in postcolonial and decolonial debates across the humanities and social sciences (Stoler 2002; Didi-Huberman & Ebeling 2007; Russel 2018). These discussions have prompted ethnographic museums and archives to critically engage with their collections, not only by developing new research methodologies but, more importantly, by collaborating with communities of origin in research and curation practices (Christen 2011; Ladwig et al. 2012; Sbriccoli 2016; Roque & Traube 2019; Edwards 2021).

In the context of ethnographic film archives, digitization and the development of public access infrastructure have opened new possibilities for reintegrating these films into ethnographic research and reconnecting them with their original contexts. Simultaneously, ethnographic film is increasingly being incorporated into restitution efforts, emphasizing its role as cultural heritage (Schneider 2021; Groo 2019). However, we must recognize that ethnographic film production, as both a tool and method in anthropological research, has historically been shaped by institutional and scientific ideologies rooted in broader systems of power and knowledge production. The technical and narrative choices in these films—camera technology, film grammar, style, and form—have often perpetuated forms of epistemic imperialism (Chakrabarty 2000; Mignolo 2011). Decisions about who is portrayed, how they are framed, and how stories are sequenced and composed have frequently reflected Western-centric perspectives. These films not only marginalized the voices of the communities being documented, but also produced particular structural and aesthetic elements that constitute these films which neglects Indigenous Epistemologies.

Thus, we argue that it is imperative not only to decolonize film archives but also to encourage contemporary filmmakers and artists to experiment with decolonizing ethnographic film narratives through innovative formal, stylistic, and medial approaches.

This panel seeks to explore methods for engaging with archival ethnographic film material in light of these ongoing debates. We invite anthropologists, filmmakers, archivists, and curators to share their ideas, case studies, and best practices, focusing on:

1. Archive access, structure, and curatorship
2. Contemporary uses of archival film and the creation of decolonial film narratives using archival footage
3. How decolonial efforts involving ethnographic film archives contribute to new philosophical, epistemological, and anthropological debates.