11. Fragments, Form and Photogénie: Using Practice to Research the Intersectional Work of Poetic Documentary

As creators of media works defined by a close relationship with the real, a significant question for documentary practitioners is how to respond to the complexity of reality. Theories of spectator embodiment suggest opportunities to address these conditions through both the content and form of documentary work. Building on Epstein’s photogénie and Marks’s tactile epistemologies, this chapter examines a poetic approach to documentary production as one way to activate diverse knowledges that go beyond what can be expressed verbally. Using examples from the production of the short documentary, How Many Ways to Say You? this chapter suggests that the intersectional methodology of an open, poetic approach to documentary can provoke diverse knowledges for makers and spectators that may address our fragile and changeful context.