Paper short abstract:

Can’t wear flip flops is an in-progress autoethnographic film which follows the filmmaker and her partner’s attendance at an online funeral during the Covid pandemic. The service didn’t go to plan; the speed at which technology races ahead is often unforgiving towards grief.

Paper long abstract:

"Can’t wear flip flops" (working title) is an in-progress autoethnographic film which follows the filmmaker and her partner’s attendance at an online funeral during the Covid pandemic. Unbeknown to both at the time, the service didn’t go to plan. Alternating between a screen recording from their perspective and a face-on view of their reactions, the film unfolds as an un-staged and honest attempt to remain connected virtually and uphold traditional mourning practices. On the surface, it offers a light-hearted approach to our often-tabooed confrontation with death, whilst its greater significance points towards the need for close collaboration between service providers and the bereaved in order to best harness digital technologies. After all, the speed at which technology races ahead is often unforgiving towards grief.

I have produced a draft version (5 min link below) or perhaps it is a snippet of the larger project to come. The main chunk (of attendance at the online funeral) was recorded in haste – the event was real. As a result, compromises have been made in terms of sound and the social media opening/closing is an attempt to tie the experience together. But I am not sure if it works so feedback on the narrative would be appreciated. Currently I am conducting ethnographic research on other peoples' experiences of online funerals and I would like to make a larger body of work/longer film to bring other peoples' experiences together of the way digital technologies have changed our relationship with death and grief.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/167Fbp0asCnvAqnbf4Y9jH2VPnFb7HHxv/view?usp=share_link