The Social Life of Films: A Visual Research on "Birdwatchers"

This contribution aims to explore the network of relationships built around the film Birdwatchers (Marco Bechis, 2008). Realised in Mato Grosso do Sul (Brazil) with non professional Kaiowà actors over a period of four years, this fictional movie describes the political struggle of the Guarani communities against deforestation, stigmatisation and violence. “Cinema” enters into a context of strong social vulnerability, a "contact zone" made up of cultural overlaps and radical clashes. As David MacDougall recalls, films are objects with multiple identities; they could therefore become a field of investigation to observe the superimpositions between different cultural meanings, exploring temporalities and geographies. Along the journey, diverse and contradictory expectations, desires, and aspirations triggered by Birdwatchers emerge. In particular, the film delves into the Kaiowà political and ritual cosmology, taking the form of a “cinematographic struggle” – as Kaiowà have defined it – in an attempt to overcome imposed boundaries and stereotypes of authenticity and timelessnes. Taking into account the social and political dynamics involved in transcultural artistic productions, along with hierarchies and asymmetries, the question 'Whose Story Is It?' seems to be a valuable tool to understand how the experience is articulated through the strategies employed by the actors involved.
Beginning with the exploration of the director's archive, the research establishes a connection between visual analysis and fieldwork, experimenting with multi-temporalities, archival re-use and the possibilities opened up by montage and video essay forms. The analysis of behind-the-scenes footage, outtakes and selected film excerpts highlights the act of reframing, engaging with materiality, memory and testimony, and exploring the interplay between time and screen memories. The study gives also suggestions regarding the multiple connections between fiction and reality, exploring off-screen politics and interferences, as well as the construction of representation within its social and political context.