Recommendations for Multispecies Ethnographic Filmmaking

[Final Paper — Fall 2019 Media and Culture at NYU Prof. Faye Ginsburg]

Kestrel’s Eye (1998)

In preparing for my (hopeful) thesis work in multispecies ethnographic media, I was eager to see the films Sweetgrass (2009) and Leviathan (2013)(both by the Harvard Sensory Ethnography Lab), which had been pitched to me as multispecies ethnographic films. But honestly, after watching them, I felt like ethnographers had missed the mark when it came to representing the lives and cultures of wildlife or animals on film.

Without clear examples to emulate, I decided to imagine asking the canon of ethnographic filmmakers what their thoughts would be on a diverse collection of nature documentaries.

After reviewing both Sweetgrass (2009) and Leviathan (2013), I explored how the lives and environments of animals were represented in the films Kestrel’s Eye (1999), The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill (2003), and Seasons — A Journey into the Forests of Europe (2016). These wildlife documentaries created unexpected parallels to ethnographic films, from Kestrel’s Eye’s “Gardner-ian” narration-less, narrative-less, and music-less poetry/film to Seasons “Rouchian” eco-fiction made entirely with animal actors!

Below, I’ve embedded the trailers for films, links to watch if available, and my full paper. I share this work for feedback—please let me know what you think! Comment or contact me on social media.

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View Leviathan (2013) on Kanopy

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View Kestrel’s Eye (2001) on Kanopy

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View The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill (2003) on Kanopy

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View Seasons — A Journey into the Forests of Europe (2016) on Kanopy

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Link to “A Series of Recommended Practices for Multispecies Ethnographic Filmmaking”