Let Us Be Seen

: analysing and documenting grassroots feminism in Belfast, 2019-2021

Abstract

This research is concerned with how to document and analyse experiences of grassroots organisations that operate as activists, artists and educators to carry out feminist work in Belfast between 2019 – 2021. It explores intersectional filmic strategies and deploys elements of oral history within moving image to create a film that can be considered both ‘activist’ and ‘feminist’ in form and content as well as process. Intersectionality as a method of analysis is one that considers how feminism that includes everyone may be interpreted through people’s experiences and adopts these principles within the production methods of making a documentary film and writing about this process. A practice-as-research methodology is deployed, which consists of the planning, filming, editing and screening of an 80-minute documentary film, Let Us Be Seen, and of writing a critical reflection of this process. The findings show that making and screening work that centres intersectionality and gives precedence to feminist and queer narratives in the wake of the decriminalisation of abortion and legalisation of same-sex marriage in the North of Ireland, 21st October 2019, has the potential to educate diverse audiences in local, national and international settings. As part of this practice-as-research 33 participants were interviewed and their perspectives and collaboration sought through an ethical process of transparency and solidarity, adopting a framework influenced by filmmakers’ co-operatives and radical cinema traditions. Screenings held in nontheatrical spaces in Belfast, Bristol and Canada resulted in insightful feedback in the form of recorded discussion, written feedback forms, and video ‘vox pops’ as well as informal commentary. Working with a diverse group of feminists, whose positionality and perspectives were unique in the way they operated in bottom-up structures, evidenced how chasms in services in the North of Ireland were being ‘filled’ by grassroots work in a time of political stalemate and Covid-19 national lockdowns. Providing perspectives of this work on screen is paramount in a place where mainstream media often privileges a binary political perspective along sectarian lines that many on the ground no longer identify with. Counter-hegemonic frameworks also have limitations. How effective power dynamics and subjective positionality as director, filmmaker and editor can be dismantled is investigated in relation to the complexities of working with a large group of participants, over the course of a global pandemic. In editing people’s words into one cohesive documentary film, content is cut and difficult choices are made. A process of review and negotiation with participants enabled an open dialogue with these decisions. In screenings, the limitations of models of feedback forms meant audience members often commented beyond the boundaries of the forms’ boxes. Where this occurs, interesting insights have been made that point to the reductive nature of the form, whilst expanding intuitive responses to this practice-as-research in unexpected and useful ways. This research offers three original contributions: it proposes a radical, ethical and intersectional model of filmmaking/ research where everyone involved in the process is engaged and rewarded with aspects throughout; it brings a counter-hegemonic narrative of grassroots feminist work in Belfast to diverse audiences around the world to both educate and be educated by insights in different settings, and it engages in a self-reflexive process of analysis and critique of the potential and merits of this original and interdisciplinary form of practice-as-research within a written thesis.

Date of Award	Dec 2023
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Queen's University Belfast
Sponsors	Northern Ireland Department for the Economy, Rosa Luxemburg Stiftung & Future Screens NI
Supervisor	Cahal McLaughlin (Supervisor) & Sian Barber (Supervisor)