Film Screening: Mtu ni Watu

Disclosing Hidden Stories of Fieldwork by Hauke-Peter Vehrs and Richard Kiaka (Project A04 Future Conservation)

Mtu ni Watu explores the often unacknowledged role of research assistants in anthropological fieldwork. Located at the intersection of local knowledge and academic enquiry, these collaborators play a vital role in shaping the research process. However, their perspectives are rarely included in the final representations of the research. This documentary provides a platform to share their experiences and contributions, offering a more nuanced account of ethnographic practice and facilitating dialogue about the nature of collaboration and partnership.

It is funded by the Cologne International Forum. The title ‘Mtu ni Watu’ refers to the Kenyan proverb ‘a person is people’, indicating that we never achieve a goal alone, but that our work is always situated in a broader social context. This is especially the case in anthropological fieldwork in which researchers try to explore a topic in an often unknown cultural context for a long period of time.

Courtesy: Collaborative Research Centre TRR 228