Filmmaking as a transformative research tool for urban studies

The paper reports on the “Border[scape]s” research-action experience, conducted with young residents from second-generation or migrant backgrounds in Naples, and the ensuing collective documentary Io non vedo il mare about the invisible and visible borders of the city seen from their perspective. Reflecting on the intense and articulated process put in place, involving heterogeneous urban actors afferent to the worlds of academia, contemporary art, the third sector, and the audiovisual one, the contribution reflects critically on the performativity of documentary filmmaking as well as on the relevance of building literacy and competences about the production of ethically and politically grounded images and imaginaries. It thus demonstrates the need to more and more structurally incorporate filmmaking not only as a method for research in urban studies and urban planning but also as a tool for city-making, meant as the collective construction of spaces and futures of inclusive citizenship.