Collaborative videographic practices in depopulated Spain. The case of the Laboratorio de Antropología Audiovisual Experimental (León, Spain)

Abstract

This article analyses the collaborative non-fiction films made by the Laboratorio de Antropología Audiovisual (LAAV_), a space for research and creation developed by Belén Sola (head of the Department of Education and Cultural Action at MUSAC) and Chus Domínguez (audiovisual creator). LAAV_ carries out projects that involve audiences and collectives in audiovisual creation processes, challenging notions of authorship and stimulating self-representation and experimentation with audiovisual tools. In particular, we will focus on three of their works: Teleclub (developed between 2016 and 2017), Puta mina (2018) and Hostal España (2020), in which issues related to depopulation in rural areas are more clearly addressed. To this end, concepts such as collaborative filmmaking and autoethnography are brought into relation, confronting the notion of the canonical documentary and the usual procedures and hierarchies in film production.