reach us to make a video...
If you're looking for a video-essay for your research, a group you're part of, or an institution,
either as something that can be included in a grant proposal or as an addition to the work you have done until now,
this form of collaboration might be for you.
Who should reach us?
If you are in the possession of a grant, or in the position to apply for one, you might want to consider this form of collaboration. A video-essay can be an “output” option for your project to reach a wider audience! Of course, this is just an idea that can be written officially in grants - in our experience, the whole collaboration of making a video-essay has been much more creative and fruitful than a simple “output”. We share ideas, write together, edit and brain-storm to create something that’s emotionally moving and enriching, not just intellectually stimulating.
Although this form of collaboration is more similar to commissioned work, because Doar mă întrebam... is a project so close to our hearts, we only accept proposals that are in line with our philosophy & politics and collaborations that are willing to make edits to the script in this direction. With other words, this will not be treated strictly as a video production service, but as a collaboration where both parties are generally in agreement and are working towards similar goals.
Budget...
We do not have a set budget because the process for each video differs so much, and because we want to provide a fair opportunity for each collaboration. For example, if one is coming from an Eastern European country (such as ourselves) we will consider a smaller budget. The length, scope and complexity of the film can mean it takes a month or two to produce, or much more, which again changes the possible budget. One other issue to consider is if you want to write it yourself, and we do the rest of the work, or if you want us to create it based on your raw research findings. Email us, so we can discuss!
Copyright...
When we finish the video and our collaboration ends, you're free to use and incorporate the video everywhere you choose. However, it's important to keep in mind that we retain the copyright over our work, and all our videos are open-access, published on our Youtube channel and Website for educational purposes. The content in them cannot be changed or altered later on, without our consent.
What projects are we excited to work on?
We are looking to work on projects that explore critical theories, researches, or philosophies, that are committed to addressing oppression in ALL its forms. We value projects that are pro-intersectional and that pay attention to how different injustices are linked and sustained through the lenses of social justice, environmental justice, political economy, political ecology, and others.
We are interested in research from the following fields: Critical Animal Studies (CAS), Radical/Critical Environmental Justice (Radical EJ, CEJ), Critical Disability Studies (CDS), Political Ecology (PE), Critical/Vegan Geographies, Dark/Queer/Critical Pedagogy, Posthumanism, Decoloniality, Speculative Realism (SR), Object-Oriented Ontology (OOO), Ecofeminism, Eco-ability, Gender Studies, Queer Studies, Anarchist Studies, Critical Discourse Studies, Science and Technology Studies (STS), Feminist and Activist Scholarship.
Our main priority is the (very broad) field of critical animal studies and work connecting to animal issues will take precedence.
some of our previous collaborations...
![[Image Description: A photo intervention with orange and yellow brush strokes to the margins and a white square split line as the focus, in the middle, is drawn over a photograph of a girl embarrassing a small dog. White and yellow lines contour their face and body.]](https://www.justwondering.io/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/05-Caring-for-another-01-Girl-and-dog-Photo.png "Children & Animal Companions: Care, love, and grief in multispecies families - Caring for another, playing together - 01")
In this video we explored the complex relationships existing between children and their “pets” by following the questions and findings of the CLAN research project, which stands for Children-Animals Friendships: challenging boundaries between humans and non-humans in contemporary societies.
Check out their website and learn more about the process of creating the video here.
This video was created with the guidance of Verónica Policarpo, coordinator of project CLANși mulțumită Human-Animal Studies Hub.
In this video we explored the complex relationships existing between children and their “pets” by following the questions and findings of the CLAN research project, which stands for Children-Animals Friendships: challenging boundaries between humans and non-humans in contemporary societies.
Check out their website and learn more about the process of creating the video here.
This video was created with the guidance of Verónica Policarpo, coordinator of project CLANși mulțumită Human-Animal Studies Hub.
Testimonial from Verónica Policarpo:
I first came across the Just Wondering project back in 2020, through some piece of news on social media about their prize at a Film Festival. Being a bit of an amateur follower of film festivals myself, I was boosted by curiosity. When I first watched We Fly, We Crawl, We Swim, I was mesmerized. How was it possible to carve such a poignant, and yet such a beautiful, piece of visual poetry, on such a desmaying topic? I felt connected, moved and inspired. Somewhere out there, someone was thinking like me, and being able to put it in images, words and sound.
Back then, I was already triggered by, and reflecting a lot about, possible ways for us humans of all kinds - including animal studies scholars - to get closer and closer to other animals' perspectives and lived experiences. A million dollar question, for sure - and yet one that we must absolutely address, if we want to break through human exceptionalism. The way JW did it was amazingly well, it seemed to me. It was poetic, sensitive, caring, affective, and yet informed, knowledgeable, critical. It used art and imagination to produce a leap in our structures of "knowing". The situation of the planet, and of nonhuman animals in it, are dismal, for sure. But the many-fold possibilities of hope peak in every corner of the poetic account of JW.
When, in 2021/22, project CLAN - Children-Animal Friendships, was coming to an end, I had the idea to invite JW to work on a piece of visual art about the project's results. A dream I had since I first watched We Fly, We Crawl, We Swim, I just decided to try my luck! I was first surprised, then super happy and excited, when they accepted.
Throughout the project, I worked closely with Aron Nor, who was incredibly generous, dedicated and committed to the project. He was also very reliable and trustful in every regard, including one that usually brings me anxiety as a project leader: delivery and deadlines. Aron was a superb partner in all this. We flowed smoothly in a safe work environment that we created for ourselves, based on mutual trust and care. We worked exclusively online/at a distance, in a dance between flexibility and delivery. With the right amount of planning, and without excessive effort or unnecessary suffering, the project was finished in due time. Go watch the film, if you haven't, and see for yourself how this all worked out. Let yourself be carried away by Maria's beautiful words and voice. By Mina's dream-like drawings. By Adrian's perfectly fit music. And by Aron's directorial talent with film animation.
On top of all, Aron and I exchanged so many photos, stories, feelings and experiences about (our) animal friends, and life in general... I guess that was the most beautiful result of all. Our friendship. One of like-minded spirits, sharing interests and values, and fully committed to something higher than themselves. Putting effort to create a less harmful and safer place on earth for other animals.
Thank you, Aron and the whole amazing team of JW. I hope we can continue this journey together.
The video was supported by the CLAN research project, funded by FCT - Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (PTDC/SOC 28415/2017).
This video explores the relationships we have with plants, the photosynthetic ones - those beings thanks to whom we can breathe, and thus be alive. By learning to listen to the vegetal world, the Planthroposcene pushes us to explore other ways of being human and thus disrupt colonial and anthropocentric understandings of what plants are.
The video was written by Giulia Carabelli & Gavin Maclean.
This video explores the relationships we have with plants, the photosynthetic ones - those beings thanks to whom we can breathe, and thus be alive. By learning to listen to the vegetal world, the Planthroposcene pushes us to explore other ways of being human and thus disrupt colonial and anthropocentric understandings of what plants are.
The video was written by Giulia Carabelli & Gavin Maclean.
Testimonial from Giulia Carabelli:
To work with just wondering was a very rewarding experience. They are surely a fantastic team of engaged, caring, highly skilled and creative individuals. What stood out for me was the desire to create a truly collaborative environment where we could always make time to check in with each other. The resulting video emerged from a process of learning together, which I treasure.
Testimonial from Gavin Maclean:
I’m very proud of this work. I would say the best part of working with you was pushing back on the drafts and having particular standards! The essay is of a much higher standard than it might have been as a result.
This video has been produced with the help of the Sociological Review Foundation as an output of Economy in the Planthroposcene: Plants, Solidarity and Worldmaking part of the 2022 Sociological Review Seminar Series.
This video was produced after a workshop about imagining multispecies worlds, and its text was written by its participants. The film is a work of collective imagination that reflects with curiosity, kindness, and awe over a series of relations the participants had with other animals.
The workshop was held online, in the spring of 2022 by Maria Martelli, with students of the Ca’ Foscari University in Venice. It was possible thanks to the invitation of Federica Timeto and Miriam De Rosa, to whom we are endlessly grateful!
The content of the workshop was based on our videos at just wondering... and the themes we approached in them. You can find the syllabus here.
This video was produced after a workshop about imagining multispecies worlds, and its text was written by its participants. The film is a work of collective imagination that reflects with curiosity, kindness, and awe over a series of relations the participants had with other animals.
The workshop was held online, in the spring of 2022 by Maria Martelli, with students of the Ca’ Foscari University in Venice. It was possible thanks to the invitation of Federica Timeto and Miriam De Rosa, to whom we are endlessly grateful!
The content of the workshop was based on our videos at just wondering... and the themes we approached in them. You can find the syllabus here.
Testimonial Federica Timeto:
I learned about just wondering's videoessays from their YouTube channel, and when I finally inaugurated my Critical Animal Studies course within the M.A. in Environmental Humanities at Ca' Foscari University, Venice, I did not hesitate to imagine a collaboration with the collective that could actively engage my class. In addition to hosting texts by members of the collective in the militant antispeciesist journal Liberazioni, of which I am a part, we designed the Imagining Multispecies Worlds seminar series that took place in the spring of 2022, which saw a group of students collaborate with Maria, Aron and Mina on the production of an animated short film based on each person's contribution, Letters to Our Multispecies Kin. The work was the result of a rich and creative dialogue facilitated by the generosity and expertise of jw, a truly horizontal exchange, and a process of conscientization in which group members and students worked side by side, each contributing their own experiences and perspectives to the final result.
The video was then presented at a live evening at the Ca' Foscari Theatre in Venice, which was well attended by the audience, in which the screening of some of the videos was followed by a conversation between Maria Martelli and myself on the artistic and theoretical aspects of jw's work, crowning a truly successful and enriching experience and one that is sure to be repeated in the future.
Testimonial from Dianora Hollman:
Attending the workshop Imagining multispecies worlds was really inspiring and enriching for me. It was a doorway to access issues that I have always felt close to but have never been able to approach in my educational journey. While the video essays by the just wondering collective led to a variety of topics in an exhaustive and creative way, the participative reflection brought us closer to the creation process of a video essay, leaving space for ideas and collaboration in a collectively open and welcoming environment. The workshop was a fundamental step in my evolving path as a person and as a researcher.
The workshop was supported by Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia.
The film was screened for the first time at Teatro Ca’ Foscari a Santa Marta, Venezia.
