Bridging the visual and social science research gap through film: a visual insight into the stories of four undocumented women in Geneva

This research explores how the medium of filmmaking can be mobilised as a tool to bridge the gap between visuality and qualitative social science research through the making of an anthropological documentary film, Elles les (in)visibles, which explores the political and social (in)visibilities of four ‘undocumented’ women in Geneva. Through the stories of these four women, the film utilises visuality’s emotive power to reach a wider audience, enabling the formation of a new gaze, shifting interpretative frames which structure the perception and recognition of these ‘undocumented’ migrant women’s humanity. Understanding how filmmaking can be used as a method, a process and a subject of research within sociology and anthropology opens up new realms for relating the visual to the textual.