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Paper short abstract:

This article explores the diverse collective experience of nine women researchers in Portugal, through a collaborative video project. Here the camera is merely the means through which we access embodied experiences and the variegated stages of our academic work and careers.

Paper long abstract:

This article explores the diverse collective experience of nine women researchers in Portugal, through a collaborative video project. Here the camera is merely the means through which we access embodied experiences related to motherhood, migration, homemaking, political engagement, and the variegated stages of our academic work and careers. Despite our differences, and throughout the filming (in its planning, execution and derushing phases) we discovered a profound connection through our shared identity as both women and researchers.

From the narrow interstices of life, our collaborative video effort resulted in a short film. In an effort of demigrantising migration studies, this project proved successful in bringing together both migrant and Portuguese female academics to create alternative futures together. Yet it is precisely these multiple viewpoints that unveil the importance of presence, the potential of solidarity and the complexity of resisting persisting power relations at university and the precarization of academia.

Drawing inspiration from our individual narratives, we joined forces (and part of our lives) to create a film beyond mere documentation. It became a medium of sharing, a canvas for collective expression, capturing the essence of our multifaceted identities as women in and beyond academia. The rhythms, sounds, and images superpose to create a poetic manifesto. In essence, this article serves as a reflection on the intricate patchwork (Cardoso et al., 2021) of our collective narrative - a narrative woven with threads of shared (i)mobilities, struggles and resistances, resilience, and the beauty found in embracing the complexity of our in-between spaces.