Psychoanalysis and Ethics in Documentary Film

This distinctively interdisciplinary book draws upon psychoanalytic theory to explore how expectations, desires and fears of documentary subjects and filmmakers are engaged, and the ethical issues that can arise as a result. Original and accessible, the second edition of this ground-breaking book addresses the four fundamental concepts of psychoanalysis and documentary film, reviews documentary film practice as a field, provides a personal account of the author’s relationship with a subject of her own work, and presents a thorough interrogation of the ethics of documentary. The updated text includes a new introduction by the author and an additional chapter ‘Stories We Tell’ by Sarah Polley, centered on ethics and the role of the filmmaker in relation to her participants. Psychoanalysis and Ethics in Documentary Film, 2nd revised edition has already been used widely and is crucial reading for film studies scholars, psychoanalysts, psychotherapists and psychotherapeutically engaged professionals, as well as filmmakers, culture studies students and anyone interested in the process of documentary-making and contemporary culture.

About the Author

Agnieszka Piotrowska, Ph.D. , is an award-winning BBC-trained filmmaker and a theorist. She the Reader in film at SODA, Manchester School of Art, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK and a visiting professor in Film and Cultural Studies at the University of Gdansk, Poland. She is the former head of the School for Film, Media, and the Performing Arts at the University for the Creative Arts. She is a member of the General Council of the Visible Evidence network and was the Director of the Visible Evidence conference at the University of Gdansk, Poland in 2022.