Here you will find some short finished films related to my research, some work-in-progress or raw footage, and information on larger film projects on which I am currently working.

Spółdzielnia / Cooperative

My second ethnographic documentary, released in November 2021:

‘Spółdzielnia / Cooperative’ is, after ‘Active (citizen)’, the second film of the Visualising the Invisible Project, which looks at the activism of migrants and ethnic minorities outside of their community organisations. This visual ethnography tells the story of a cooperative in Manchester, UK, run mainly by Polish migrants. It is a story about social engagement, migration, and a community that would typically escape academic attention.

If you would like to show this film in class or anywhere else, please let me know.

 

Active (Citizen)

Internationally awarded ethnographic documentary by Piotr Goldstein and Jan Lorenz

An intimate look at the life and work of a Roma refugee from Kosovo collecting trash on the streets of Novi Sad, Serbia, Active (citizen) is a visual ethnography focused on the material, sensorial and kinaesthetic realities of the protagonist’s work and its political and social significance – the daily activism beyond the scope of public recognition.

This 30-minute film is part of a larger research project on the ‘invisible activism’ of ethnic minorities and migrants who engage for causes beyond those important for their own community. Such activism is invisible because it happens outside any minority or migrant community structures (typical point of access for researchers and media) and because at times it takes forms which comparing to the activism of those who can afford more grand forms of activism it seems insignificant. The film approaches the question of affordability of activism as it is conceptualised by middle-class academics and activists.

The film has been completed and released in May 2019. For the full list of screenings please check the film’s website: ‘Active (citizen)’ – an ethnographic documentary. Would you like to see the film or organise a screening, please let me know.

 

Lit, His Team and Their #everydayactivism

During my recent visit to Lodz, Poland I was doing some filming for my projects on ‘everyday activism’ and on social engagement of ethnic minorities and migrants for causes outside their own communities. One of the initiatives I filmed was an informal group of people who take turns to visit, two times every day, Lit – the oldest Great Dane in Poland, who lives on the 4th floor of an apartment building and cannot anymore walk down or up the stairs. They take out the 80kg dog on a special blanket, let him have some time outside and then take him back upstairs. This is English language version of the spot which I put together for the group for their fundraising effort to buy the medicines that the dog needs.

Cádiz Carnival

Activism is typically thought of as participation in work of charities, NGOs, groups which lobby for social change, or protesting with social movements. However, there are many other forms of activism and there can be a lot of activist effort in what we perceive primarily as entertainment. For instance, many of the groups performing at the carnival of Cádiz compose and perform chirigotas which are deeply political and call for social change.