Places, inequalities and (i)mobilities: reflections in dialog with the “peripheral” audiovisual scene in São Paulo

Abstract

Drawing on shared research experiences regarding the audiovisual scene led by collectives, independent producers, and self-designated “peripheral” young autonomous filmmakers in São Paulo, the purpose of this article is to reflect on the socio-spatial conventions that have been produced and shared by a recent wave of works created by these interlocutors. The aim is to highlight how the critical engagement of these works with the “sedentary” and dualistic interpretations of the center/periphery border unfolds into renewed forms of interpreting and representing the unequal landscape of the São Paulo metropolis. Through ethnographic research and film analysis, the article examines the production contexts of two recent audiovisual works: the documentary film Até onde a gente vai? produced by Coletivo da Quebrada in 2020, and Oxente, Bixiga! created by the independent production company Caramuja: pesquisa, memória, audiovisual, released in 2021. Participant observation of these productions reveals that, more than simply aiming to enter hegemonic or alternative audiovisual circuits, these works are fundamentally the result of a deep intellectual inquiry into contemporary socio-spatial dynamics by their creators, all of whom come from marginalized backgrounds. Through the script, character construction, and the editing of their narratives, these two selected works challenge hegemonic discourses about urban territories, produce alterity, and propose sensitive interpretations of the city. They become true epistemological experiments aimed at the decolonization of the urban imaginary.