FilmEU RIT presentation at AIM 2024

On 29 May 2024, Érica Faleiro Rodrigues from Lusófona University in Lisbon, Portugal, alongside Diego Barajas Riaño from Tallinn University in Estonia, presented their collaborative paper, "Filming the Congo Panorama - Materialities of practice-led research," at the Association of Moving Image Researchers (AIM) conference held in Porto, Portugal. Their research, conducted under the auspices of the FilmEU RIT, drew on their experience from December 2022, when they filmed the historic 1913 Congo Panorama in Belgium. This large canvas, crafted by artists Alfred Bastien and Paul Mathieu, depicts scenes from the Belgian Congo and has been preserved in military facilities for many decades.

The project, part of the FilmEU RIT initiative Congo VR, required meticulous planning and the utilisation of military equipment due to its complex logistics. Faleiro Rodrigues, a film director, and Barajas Riaño, a cinematographer, authored the paper which explores the intricate balance between aesthetic and technical elements in cinema, alongside a decolonising perspective on the depicted content. Their work notably contributes to the preservation and deeper understanding of colonial heritage, embodying the FilmEU Alliance’s commitment to advancing artistic research in European higher education.