HYBRID NARRATIVES: Approaching Maternal Experience through Collecting, Writing, and Doubling in the Development of Mixed Media Film by Denise Hauser

Motherhood in cinema is often a side plot – this PhD project in Artistic Research seeks to challenge that. Through collecting, writing, and “doubling” as methods, it explores the maternal experiences of three filmmakers and how these complex realities can take shape in a hybrid film blending fiction, documentary, live action, and animation. The research addresses a gap in representation, where female doppelgängers and alter egos are rarely linked to motherhood, despite its deeply transformative nature – an obvious foundation for doubling. In filmic narratives, female doubles are often cast as antagonists or disruptions rather than reflections of a mother’s evolving self. The lens post-birth shifts to the child’s development and perspective, leaving the mother’s transformation – her shifting identity and sense of self – largely unexplored. This project takes a different approach, using interviews, video recordings, animated investigations, and personal reflections to explore the challenges of balancing motherhood and filmmaking. By aligning maternal experience with cinematic doubling, it highlights the multifaceted roles women navigate in both fields. The research also engages with filmmakers and artists who challenge conventional portrayals of motherhood. Though caregiving perspectives appear in short-form animation, hybrid long-form representations are still rare. Influences include literary works exploring motherhood, identity, and doubling, such as Matrescence by Lucy Jones and August Blue by Deborah Levy. Rather than aiming for a traditional completed film, the outcome prioritizes the process. It includes a synopsis and excerpts from the evolving script Make Her See, alongside documentary footage, interviews, animation tests, and live-action experiments. Incorporating doppelgängers and animated alter-egos, the project blends realism and surrealism to examine a woman’s vulnerabilities and resilience as she redefines herself. This artistic research expands the representation of motherhood in mixed media film, connects the maternal experience to cinematic doubling, and opens new possibilities for nuanced maternal narratives.

COLLECTING

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ABSTRACT

DOCUMENTARY EDITS:

GAËLLE DENIS

Introduction to filmmaker Gaëlle Denis including an excerpt from her short City Paradise. Material used in scenes 7, 10, 12, and 88 of the script.

DOCUMENTARY EDITS:

ANITA KILLI

Introduction to filmmaker Anita Killi. Material used in scenes 7, 9, and 50 of the script.

This page includes the following material:

Documentary footage featuring filmmakers Gaëlle Denis and Anita Killi
Excerpts from the filmmaker's films, Super 8 footage, and archival material integrated into selected edits
Filmmaker interviews - some included in the edits - with downloadable PDF interview guides
Examples of the filmmaker's artistic style, including zine illustrations, film stills, and studio photographs
Illustration of Hauser reading a note, with soundscape from her 2nd Artistic Research Forum presentation

Learn how the processes and examples relate to the research in the Written Reflection, under 'Collecting'.

"They are like your babies, you know,

you take care of them, every frame,

every sound... it's a controlled world."

Excerpt from first interview by Denise Hauser

with Gaëlle Denis, London, November 2021.

"And then there was this hug, and how she clung to me a little... and then I gently pushed her away because I had to keep on working."

Excerpt from interview by Denise Hauser

with Anita Killi, Dovre, November 2022.

COLLECTED MATERIAL:

Anita Killi

COLLECTED MATERIAL:

Gaëlle Denis

Featuring Anita Killi in the cowstables before the studio conversion, and an excerpt from her short Mother Didn't Know. Material used in scenes 33, 34, and 35.

Featuring Gaëlle Denis drawing in her home studio at the Barbican Estate, London (November 2021). Material used in scenes 51, 52, and 53.

Design: Nonspace | Programming: Jonas Sjøvaag | Implementation: Denise Hauser

Featuring Gaëlle Denis painting in her East London studio (October 2023). Material used in scene 72.

Featuring Anita Killi at the opening of the converted studio and an exhibition with various artists and filmmakers. Material included in scenes 74 and 88.

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