Empowerment through Audiovisual Storytelling

Taking rural India as an example, this study asks: What potential does community video have as a tool for development? The aim is to find practically useful answers. As one of the few studies in this field, it goes beyond research projects which only concentrate on the final product. Community video is more than just a medium; it is a storytelling process, with each step - from its conception to its final dissemination - bearing potential for development. The present research therefore analyses the topic from both perspectives. Catering to the practical needs of development work, it includes both theoretical narrative analysis and ethnographic field research. Subjects of this study are developmental organizations which create films together with groups. Essentially, development is triggered by empowerment. Hence the main concern of this research is to find out whether community video fosters or even creates a feeling of empowerment.