Who Has the Right to Tell the Story? Filming in Favelas and tribes, Ethics of Representation, and Impact Filmmaking as a System, presented by Florian Tomasini

A key dimension of the talk addresses the filmmaker’s positionality, reflecting on what it means to work as a foreigner (“gringo”) within these contexts. The session will explore processes of building trust, navigating cultural distance, and moving from external observation toward genuine collaboration and reciprocity.

Grounded in the framework of social imagination, the discussion moves beyond representation to consider filmmaking as a system of impact. It will explore how documentaries can function not only as narratives but as tools embedded within broader ecosystems involving NGOs, institutions, and policy-oriented initiatives.
Through concrete case studies, including Mulheres que Regeneram Territórios, the session will address:

• ethical fieldwork and informed consent in vulnerable contexts
• positionality and legitimacy as an outsider filmmaker
• building trust and long-term relationships within communities
• co-creation and shared narrative ownership
• the risks of extraction and misrepresentation
• impact-oriented distribution strategies
• collaboration with NGOs and grassroots actors

Combining visual excerpts, behind-the-scenes insights, and strategic reflection, the presentation invites participants to rethink the role of the filmmaker—not as an external observer, but as an engaged actor accountable to the communities they work with.

Florian Tomasini is an award-recognised filmmaker, documentary director, and photographer with over 10 years of international experience. Based in Rio de Janeiro, his work focuses on documentary filmmaking as a tool for social impact, collaborating with NGOs, institutions, and community-based organisations.
As a foreign filmmaker working in Brazil, his practice critically engages with questions of positionality, ethics, and representation—particularly in underrepresented territories such as favelas. His work explores how to move from an outsider perspective toward collaborative storytelling processes that respect and amplify local voices.

He is the director of the 2025 documentary Mulheres que Regeneram Territórios, presented at Casa da Cultura Laura Alvim in Rio de Janeiro. His approach combines strong artistic direction, ethical fieldwork, and impact-oriented distribution strategies to create films that operate both as narratives and as catalysts for social transformation.

For any questions, please email Artivism at artivism@adelphi.edu.