Screen production research: (Queer) short filmmaking as a mode of enquiry

Abstract

Developed through a practice-as-research methodology, and informed by queer film theory, this article, which is written by a doctoral supervisor and her Ph.D. filmmaking candidate, examines strategies for filmmakers, especially LGBTQ+, to disrupt traditional academic outputs by creating research that takes place in, with and through short filmmaking. In the context of screen production research, the short film serves as a result of the research; therefore, it must perform the research findings. The article will centre on one of the author’s doctoral work, which the co-author is currently supervising, a new and critically acclaimed queer short film entitled Expulsion. Through an examination of Gaffney’s short film, which centres on a fictional queer state, the authors will reveal a selection of short filmmaking techniques, such as the use of historical retellings, environmental thematic connections, as well as other textual methods, which can be used to challenge the current popular formula for LGBTQ+ characters and narratives, which unfortunately tend towards the neo-liberal and homonormative.