Bodies of Water: Documentary Filmmaking Workshop

IMPRINT Documentary Collective

Experiment with documentary filmmaking to make your own short film on the body and water. For women, trans and non-binary people. Online.

The last space for this workshop has been claimed, but we will have more workshops next month. Please sign up for our newsletter: https://mailchi.mp/b23e3a50c485/imprintnewsletter or follow us on instagram @imprint.documentaries to be the first the hear about them!

Join us for our Documentary Filmmaking Workshop: Bodies of Water to make your own short embodied documentary film with an international cohort of filmmakers!Over the course of the month, each participant will make their own short documentary or experimental film (1-10 minutes) through embodied methods which explore the relationship between the body, water, and documentary filmmaking as a process. This is an experimental workshop focused on collaboration and feedback to explore the potential of embodied documentary in the making of a short film on the subject of our embodied relationships to water.Please note this workshop is for gender marginalised participants only, which includes women, trans, and non-binary persons. SCHEDULEThis workshop consists of 4 sessions total on Thursday evenings (UK time):Introduction to Embodied Documentary (19 March 2026) at 6-8:30 PM UK TimeExperimenting with embodied documentary techniques (26 March 2026) at 6-8:30 PM UK TimeEmbodied editing and story structure (2 April 2026) at 6-8:30 PM UK TimeScreening of final films (9 April 2026) at 6-8:30 PM UK TimeThe sessions will consists of lectures and group activities, and there will be homework in between the weekly sessions, as well as optional readings and films to watch.Attendance at all 4 sessions is preferred but is not compulsory - do reach out should you have any questions!

INTRODUCTIONEmbodied Documentary Filmmaking is a filmmaking method developed by IMPRINT that explores the convergence of the body, embodied practices, and documentary filmmaking.In this immersive and practical workshop, participants will join a small, international cohort of up to 10 filmmakers in collaborative filmmaking exercises to delve into our embodied relationships to the ecological through the lens of a camera, to each make their own short 1 - 10 minute documentary.Through a combination of theory, practice, and collaboration, participants will learn how to deepen into the concept of embodiment to create compelling and authentic short experimental or documentary films on water: environmental filmmaking, more than human species, natural and urban place, the climate and planetary health, fluidity, and bodies of water. During the workshop, we will move through the main stages of documentary filmmaking:<ul><li>Pre-Production: How can our bodies somatically, sensorially, and emotionally inform the making of documentary films?</li><li>Directing: What types of creative decisions do we make as directors on how we tell stories on the body's relationship to water?</li><li>Shooting: How do we position or visualise the body, or create a representation of the body, with a camera?</li><li>Editing: How do we construct bodily-informed, intuitive, and alternative narrative structures for our films?</li><li>Distribution: Where do we want our films to be seen, and what social and personal impact do we want our films to have?</li></ul>

"We are all bodies of water. To think embodiment as watery belies the understanding of bodies that we have inherited from the dominant Western metaphysical tradition. As watery, we experience ourselves less as isolated entities, and more as oceanic eddies: I am a singular, dynamic whorl dissolving in a complex, fluid circulation. The space between ourselves and our others is at once as distant as the primeval sea, yet also closer than our own skin—the traces of those same oceanic beginnings still cycling through us, just pausing as this bodily thing we call mine. Water is between bodies, and of bodies, before us and beyond us, but also very presently this body, too. Our comfortable categories of thought begin to dissolve. Water entangles our bodies in relations of gift, debt, theft, complicity, difference, and relation."- Astrida Neimanis

WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES1. Introducing the concept of embodied documentary filmmaking: We will explore the theoretical underpinnings and practical applications of embodied documentary filmmaking as creative research and practice. Specifically, we will focus on how somatic experiences and the body itself can be integrated into filmmaking to tell deeper stories.2. Developing somatic and embodied relationships through filmmaking: Through a variety of phenomenological and somatic practices, we aim to use filmmaking as a means to cultivate deeper connections to both the body, others, and the world itself through the act of making films. We will explore the body as a rich source of story material by turning towards and illustrating our own embodied experiences.3. Experimenting with new embodied filmmaking techniques: We will engage in a series of collective and individual practical exercises and experiments aimed at incorporating embodied techniques into documentary filmmaking. These may include embodied or subjective camera work, sensorial sound and visual-scapes, intuitive editing, and using non-traditional narrative structures inspired by the body itself.4. Cultivating personal narrative: Drawing from our own experiences, we will identify and develop personal stories that personally and deeply resonate with us, and learn how to craft these into new and exciting storylines by gaining feedback from other participants. We will learn specific filmmaking techniques for deepening the emotional and embodied aspects of our stories through sound and image, resulting in uniquely felt short films.5. Reflection and connection: The workshop will provide time for us to reflect on our experiences, share insights, and consider the broader implications of embodied documentary filmmaking as a practice with the larger cohort. Each participant will leave with a deeper understanding of how embodiment can enhance their creative process, the impact of their creative work, and their collaborations with others, while creating a network of likeminded filmmakers working on similar themes.

PLEASE NOTEThis is a relaxed workshop focused on connection and experimentation in filmmaking, and is open to people of marginalised genders only, in order to address lack of representation in the wider film industry. This includes all women, trans and non-binary people. This space is explicitly transfeminist and anti-imperialist and no transphobia or colonial ideology will be tolerated.This workshop is open to participants from all disciplines and practices (artists, researchers, students, filmmakers, dancers, embodiment/somatic practitioners, art therapists, or anyone who has a passing interest in film), who are interested in learning about experimental approaches to documentary, experimental film, and moving image work. People seeking to learn about and/or infuse their creative work with personal, emotional, and sensory elements will find this workshop particularly valuable.Participants from all levels of filmmaking experience are welcome to join, from absolutely no experience to seasoned professional. The workshop sessions will focus on directing rather than technical skills, however guidance in using a camera and editing programmes will be supported during the independent working time by the course leader, who is also available for support and feedback. MATERIALSThis workshop is aimed towards people who have at least very basic experience in using a computer, camera and editing software, or who have experience in experimental, documentary or fiction filmmaking, or who have another creative or technical digital practice. The workshop time will not focus on technical filmmaking skills, but additional resources for basic skills in filming and editing will be provided on an as-needed basis.Participants should have access to their own equipment, including:<ul><li>Camera (this can be a smartphone, DSLR, analogue film camera, etc.)</li><li>Editing software (free or paid, ie DaVinci, FinalCut Pro, iMovie, Premiere, etc.)</li><li>Microphone (smartphone, portable mic, etc.)</li><li>Computer or laptop to edit on and attend workshops</li></ul> COSTPlease note there are a maximum of 10 spaces available on a first come, first serve basis.This workshop is offered on a sliding scale basis of £150 to £290 in order to cover fees and administrative costs for putting the workshop on, and to contribute to the overall effort of running IMPRINT Documentary Collective. IMPRINT is currently run by one person with multiple disabilities, and these workshop fees allow the provision of a basic income. Scholarships are available for disabled, trans, and BIPOC people, and global majority participants will be prioritised for these spaces. Please get in touch at imprintdocumentaries@gmail.com to request this.Sliding Scale:£150 - for those who are unemployed, low income students, or part time due to disability/accessing benefits£210 - for those who are regularly waged£290 - for those whose participation is supported/reimbursed by/funded by an institution (such as a university, production company or arts institute)Please note no refunds will be given due to limited spaces. Spaces are non-transferable.

ABOUT USIMPRINT Documentary Collective is a feminist film collective focusing on embodiment and the body in documentary film. Founded in 2021, IMPRINT delivers workshops, residencies, productions, consultancies and popup screenings to experiment with the theme of embodiment as a process for making films.Our collaborations within the film industry and community initiatives have allowed us to reach a wide audience on the potential of embodied filmmaking, and our goal is to broaden the potential for representation of marginalised storytellers, using storytelling and the documentary medium as an act of radical and empathic resistance through the lens of the body politic. IMPRINT is currently based in Scotland.Find us online <a href="https://www.instagram.com/imprint.documentaries/" title="https://www.instagram.com/imprint.documentaries/" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">@imprint.documentaries</a> or at <a href="https://imprintdocs.cargo.site" title="https://imprintdocs.cargo.site" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">imprintdocs.cargo.site</a>And sign up for our newsletter here: <a href="https://mailchi.mp/b23e3a50c485/imprintnewsletter" title="https://mailchi.mp/b23e3a50c485/imprintnewsletter" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">IMPRINT Newsletter (mailchi.mp)</a> YOUR FACILITATORErica MondeErica Monde (they/them) is a non-binary and disabled filmmaker, researcher and educator who grew up on unceded Nisenan, Maidu, Miwok and Me-Wuk lands (northern California), and is currently based in Scotland. They work across documentary, fiction and hybrid filmmaking, are a trained medical anthropologist, and are currently working in academia on the intersections of digital technology and health. Their work focuses on the body, medicine, queer ecologies, and embodied methodologies, and draws on over a decade of experience in body-based practices such as dance, focusing, somatic experiencing, and movement studies, as well as lived experience of chronic illness and disability. They hold an MFA in documentary directing from the University of Edinburgh and an MA in medical anthropology from the University of Heidelberg. Their short documentary, There's Not Much We Can Do, commissioned by the Scottish Documentary Institute and Screen Scotland in 2021 for the Bridging the Gap scheme, premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, and has since screened in festivals around the world such as DOC:NYC, Raindance, and Encounters. They currently tutor on the Film Medicine postgraduate course at the University of Edinburgh, are a recent alum of the Locarno Industry Academy, and have worked as a producer and story consultant on BAFTA nominated and award winning short films that have screened at BFI Flare, Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival, Sarajevo, IDFA and Sundance. They are currently completing their next short experimental film, ecotones, are in development for their first feature documentary, and were recently commissioned by Screen Scotland and BFI Network for Sharp Shorts and the BFI Doc Society's Made of Truth Fund. Follow them <a href="https://www.instagram.com/erica.monde" title="https://www.instagram.com/erica.monde" target="_blank" data-msys-clicktrack="0" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">@erica.monde</a>

Our {communityGuidelinesLink} describe the sort of content we prohibit on Eventbrite. If you suspect an event may be in violation, you can report it to us so we can investigate.

To report other categories of prohibited or illegal content, submit {link}

Registrations are closed

Bodies of Water: Documentary Filmmaking Workshop

More events from IMPRINT Documentary Collective

Discover more events from IMPRINT Documentary Collective, from Film & Media to other experiences you might love.

Still looking for the right event?

Explore all online events to browse and filter by date, category, and more.

Registrations are closed

Bodies of Water: Documentary Filmmaking Workshop

More events from IMPRINT Documentary Collective

Discover more events from IMPRINT Documentary Collective, from Film & Media to other experiences you might love.

More Film & Media events

Browse more Film & Media events with different dates, prices, and formats to find your next great experience.

Still looking for the right event?

Explore all online events to browse and filter by date, category, and more.