Paper short abstract:

This presentation revisits and discusses filmic approaches and formats experimented with during fieldwork on future-making in the Kenyan Rift Valley.

Paper long abstract:

The Kenyan Rift Valley has been a destination for internal migrants in search for labour in the tourism sector, fisheries, as well the international cut-flower and horticultural companies for some decades now. In the course of changing industries, job-seekers and their descendants have had to adjust and adapt their skills almost continuously.

However, in processes of ruination, as for example the decreased tourism industry at Lake Baringo, or a shut-down flower farm in Naivasha, a large community suddenly finds itself in the situation of needing to relearn specific skills in order to make a living otherwise. In this presentation, I will revisit methods and approaches I have employed in order to find a way of accompanying these processes audio-visually. Furthermore, I will discuss a collaboration with a professional cameraperson in which we have sought formats and styles which render visible the context of collapsing industries, while at the same time focusing on individual stories.