Joël Boulier is currently Associate Professor in Geography at the University of Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne. He has long been interested in methodological issues in geography. On the one hand, he deals with issues of spatial analysis and geomatics, particularly in relation to environmental and forestry problems. He has published extensively in this field. On the other hand, his interest in music, photography and directing has naturally led him to alternative forms of writing in geography, particularly audiovisual writing. Since 2016, he has been teaching documentary production in geography, from the first years of university right through to the Ph.D. In 2023, he co-directed the film “Viendra la mer” with Marie Chenet, a film about the future of dykes in France. J. Boulier has also made several short documentaries (“Mémoires des tartres”, etc.). Two other films are currently being edited, and an ambitious film project will be launched in the spring on the issue of precariousness.
Zoé E. Headley is a social anthropologist, member of the Centre for Indian and South Asian Studies (CESAH/ CNRS-EHESS) and associate member of the French Institute of Pondicherry, India (CNRS-MAEE). An important part of her work is devoted to the transformations of social morphology in the villages of southwestern India (Tamil Nadu), to the issues and negotiations of caste membership and to the contemporary articulations of customary law. In this context, she has coordinated the constitution of a ‘village’ digital archive, DATAH (Digital Archive of Tamil Agrarian History-1650-1950). More recently, she initiated the STARS (Studies in Tamil Studio Archives and Society) project, which she coordinated with Ramesh Kumar. Stars aims to document the history of studio photography in South India. The STARS.Archive currently includes over 42,000 digitized images (glass-plates, soft negatives and prints) and has resulted in a number of exhibitions in India, France, Germany and England curated by artists and social scientists as well as several MA dissertations.
Armelle Jacquemot is an Associate Professor in Anthropology at the University of Poitiers, Head of the Master’s in Anthropology – Ethnography and Audiovisual Writing, member of the Migrinter Laboratory (UMR 7301), and of the Institute Convergences Migrations. A specialist in Brazil, she has dedicated the majority of her fieldwork and research achievements to it for over thirty years. Focused on multidisciplinarity and interdisciplinarity, her work spans the fields of religion, illness and health, criminal justice, the environment, and migrations. Her research, which has both a fundamental and applied dimension, utilises film and photography as investigative tools and creative modes of scientific writing (https://www.canal-u.tv/auteurs/jacquemot_armelle/videos). Common to her work is the essential role of ethnographic fieldwork and its restitution, as well as the aim to disseminate results beyond the academic sphere.
Rameshkumar Kothandapani is the Head of the Photographic Archives of the French Institute of Pondicherry (IFP). He has been working at the IFP for the past 27 years. Although he has been involved in various research projects at the Institute, he has been particularly active in studies related to South Indian art and history. In particular, he has documented Jain and Buddhist monuments throughout Tamil Nadu. There are about 160,000 photographs of temples and their idols in the archive. He worked with Zoe Headley, the founder of the STARS collection, as a co-investigator from 2015-19. STARS aims to document the history of South Indian studio photography. More recently, he has been actively involved in documenting and digitizing endangered South Indian documents. His current research is supported by the British Library in London and the UCLA Library at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Thulasi Kumar Marella, is currently Assistant Professor at the Department of Communication Media Studies, St Joseph’s University, Bengaluru and awaiting the defense of his Ph.D. thesis (filmmaking) from the Dept. of Mass Communication, Pondicherry University. From his Postgraduate days he developed a passion for capturing the essence of real-life experiences, drawing from personal experiences and marginalized perspectives. He has also collaborated with independent filmmakers, researchers, and scholars in producing notable films which led to screening four works in national and international film festivals, garnering recognition for his work. In addition to this practical filmmaking experience, he has also been involved in academia, guiding students with their ideas and fostering a deeper understanding of the art of filmmaking.
Surbhi Mittal/pale blue dotter is an artist & storyteller who connects her inner world narratives to the outer world she inhabits. Her stories explore themes of multispecies existence, human behaviour and ecological collapse. She interweaves melody, spoken word & field recordings into durational immersions, textual material and speculative narratives. Her instruments include synthesisers, microphones & voice. Link to her work: https://linktr.ee/iampalebluedotter.
Thanuja Mummidi is currently an Associate Professor at the Centre for Study of Social Exclusion and Inclusive Policy in Pondicherry University. She holds a Ph.D. in Social Anthropology from the University of Madras. Her specialization lies at the interface of economic and ecological anthropology, inclusive policy and scheduled tribes and food sovereignty. Her long-term ethnographic research has been with the Konda Reddis (south India) and more recently she has been using film for advocacy and policy intervention.
Nicolas Prévôt is an Assistant Professor at the Department of Anthropology of the University Paris Ouest Nanterre and a member of the Centre de Recherche en Ethnomusicologie (CREM-LESC, CNRS). He has conducted fieldwork in Middle India (Bastar, Chhattisgarh State) and in the Southern Balkans (Macedonia). His research focuses on the ontology and the power of music, especially in ritual contexts, with a political perspective. As a coordinator of the EMAD Master’s programme (Ethnomusicology and the Anthropology of dance) and the initiator of a research-action project called “The musical heritage of the inhabitants of Nanterre” (www.inouiwebdoc.fr), he found a new interest in applied Ethnomusicology and visual Ethnomusicology.
Avitoli G. Zhimo has been teaching social anthropology at the University of Delhi since January 2009. She received her PhD from the University of Delhi. She has worked extensively among the Naga tribes exploring the politics of conversion and the dynamics of customary law. Her research also focusses on the changing realities among Naga tribes in the era of globalization. She was instrumental in reviving Visual Anthropology Lab in 2018. Her ethnographic films and photo-essays have featured in international platforms like the IUAES Congress 2020 (Croatia), Photo Oxford Festival 2021 (United Kingdom), Visual Ethnography journal (Italy). Currently she is also holding the position of Joint Director, Centre for Tribal Studies, University of Delhi.