Mehvish Rather

Mehvish Rather is pursuing research in the field of documentary filmmaking. Being a documentary filmmaker herself, with her films being showcased in different film festivals across the globe, she continues to question the methodology and ethics in her field. Her particular interest concerns with the representation of subjects in documentaries based in protracted political conflict zones, trying to envision them beyond the scope of victimhood. She questions the patterns of absences within such documentaries, such as that of humour and transcendentality. Her research is a combination of critique of existing documentary work in and about Kashmir as well as an exploration of alternative and experimental modes for responsible representation of documentary subjects. The cornerstone of this research is understanding, learning, and finding ways to represent documentary subjects of this long-term conflict zone without victimizing them. Currently her work is focusing on the impact of digital surveillance on communication channels at interpersonal and community levels – and the viability of old media technology in circumventing the issues.