One of the key, but often overlooked, values of documentary filmmaking is its potential to create knowledge sharing and solidarity networks in the most adverse situations, either as part of the process or in the afterlife of the film. The research project will flip this arrangement and explorehow this “byproduct” of documentary could become the centre of production and a method of research. The inextricable connection between the climate crisis and capitalist modes of production warrants a further study and a careful investigation into the interconnections between labour and climate concerns, that have a history and tendency of being forced into separate silos. Towards futurity, a qualitatively different time to come, how can labour be re-imagined under the conditions of the climate crisis?
Prerna Bishnoi is a PhD candidate in Artistic Research at Trondheim Academy of Fine Art, Norway. Her topic of research explores how labour concerns intersect with climate crisis and what role documentary practice – informed by documentary filmmaking – can play in making these interconnections visible to make labour-climate justice imaginable. Her interest is in the agency of grassroots organizing and the potential of (creating) knowledge-sharing networks within this framework. She is a board member of the Norwegian visual artist union, Young Artists Society (UKS) and is a part of the steering group of Verdensrommet, an advocacy and mutual support network for 170+ non-EU/EEA creative professionals in Norway.