Learning from the Grassroots uses cinematic storytelling to document collective political action. Our mission is to develop new narrative forms that meaningfully engage participants as co-authors of their stories, not merely as subjects.
This approach presents creative and ethical challenges, as collective processes often involve a wide range of perspectives, individuals and motivations. Presenting this diversity without overwhelming the audience requires careful narrative design.
The story is usually told from the perspective of a single individual, whose viewpoint is shaped by their own unique experiences and beliefs, creating a backdrop for the narrative. However, when multiple voices are involved, the dramaturgical challenge lies in weaving these perspectives together in a way that maintains suspense and emotional engagement.
While it is important to ensure that no protagonist is speaking on behalf of another, interaction between the different narrative strands is essential in order to build a compelling and coherent story.
When it comes to the common cause and how it becomes a political narrative, it is crucial that all participants support this narrative. The protagonists‘ perspectives should influence the film’s dramaturgy and themes. We understand our protagonists not as passive interviewees, but as co-authors. Their choices regarding locations, themes and narrative emphasis are integrated into the filmmaking process.
While the film team ultimately retains responsibility for the final narrative design, the protagonists participate in several key stages of the film-making process.
1. Conceptualization: A collaborative brainstorming session gathers initial ideas and reflections. Participants identify key themes and perspectives they want the film to explore.
2. Mapping: A visual map is created to represent the relationships between individuals, organizations, associations or companies involved, as well as the thematic connections between them.
3. Narrative Development: Once a draft dramaturgical concept emerges, it is shared and discussed with the group. Feedback is gathered and integrated.
4. Production and Post-production: As filming and editing progresses, different versions of the narrative strands are made available to the participants. They can raise objections if their perspectives are misrepresented or overlooked.
A password-protected discussion forum will be open to stakeholders for all these steps of participation – lftgr.net/buendnisse
Our Core question:
How can we design the narrative process so that participants feel truly involved and accurately represented in the political story being told?
Our goal is to establish a co-creative and non-hierarchical relationship between the filmmakers and the protagonists. We strive for shared interpretive authority – so that the final film is not just about the people it portrays, but shaped with them. Through this collaborative process, the narrative becomes a space of negotiation: of images, meanings and representation.
„It is through narrative […] that political thinking is actually realized. Through the narrated action that constitutes narrative, man relates to life or belongs to life, insofar as human life is inevitably political life. Narrative is the first dimension in which a human being lives, through Bios and not through Zoé, a political life and/or a life transmitted to other human beings.“
Julia Kristeva, Die Banalität des Bösen, in: Politik und Verantwortung. Zur Aktualität von Hannah Arendt, p. 131 (Julia Kristeva, The Banality of the Evil in: Politics and Responsibility. On the Actuality of Hannah Arendt, cited from the German Edition).
