For us, building bridges means two things: on the one hand, the ability of film to establish communication between social groups that find themselves in a situation of political polarization. On the other hand, the development of a cooperation model of social science and film, which produces this same ability. Artistic Research offers the space to explore and reflect on this model.

The shared project leadership is held by Barbara Wolfram and Paulus Wagner. Wagner has interviewed workers in and around Vienna, many of whom display right-wing populist attitudes, as part of his PhD in social science. In the background, the theme of social recognition runs through the interviews, especially concerning the contribution these people make through their occupational work. It influences social roles and political attitudes. This is where Barbara Wolfram steps in: she has been working artistically for over 8 years with the translation of biographical-documentary material into film and theater works.

The aim of the project is to provide a “proof of concept” for the method: on the basis of anonymized social research (interviews, ethnography) we analyze the values of social groups. Where they overlap in such a way that a constructive dialogue seems possible, we develop narratives and aesthetic means of expression in three fictional short film works that resonate across groups, thus providing building blocks of a societal bridge-building based on artistic-scientific methods.

Our first short film project is dedicated to the value and recognition of manual labor in contemporary society. In the second, mediators, who mediate between polar opposites in society on a daily basis through their professional or private position, are where they deserve to be: in the center of attention. For our third project we will experimentally test how cinematic inputs resonate among different social groups and if they are able to influence political attitudes. For this project we will collaborate with Georgios Georgarakis, Moritz Schlick Post-Doctoral Fellow from the University of Vienna and an expert for experimental designs.

Article in mdw Magazine: Building Bridges: How Lived Experiences Become Visible by Carina Lampeter, Posted on 28. April 2025