Aesthetics and practices of mobility in mobile phone filmmaking
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 22191068 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Angela Jouini (0000-0003-1114-4336, Freie Universität Berlin, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 27 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 79-89 |
| Publication date | 2026-01-02 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Media Practice and Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 2574-1136 • E-ISSN: 2574-1144 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/25741136.2025.2478492 |
| OpenAlex | W4408721632 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 3 |
| References cited | 15 |
This article examines the relationship between digitization and digital films in general, mobile phone filmmaking in particular, as well as migration to mobility. I argue that mobility is a central concept to all three of these areas and I will draw on the film Midnight Traveler, a mobile phone documentary that follows a family’s flight from Afghanistan to Germany, to exemplify this. Practices of mobility are at the heart of digital film, which is characterized by cinema’s relocation or the circulation of data, and also define the everyday use of mobile phones as well as their usage in filmmaking. By highlighting scenes from the documentary film, the mobile phone camera’s mobility and portability are linked to migration movements as well as physical and bodily movements by refugees, especially when mobile phones are used as cameras in situations that cause motion blur. This article begins by establishing a theoretical link between digitality, mobile phones, migration and mobility and then explores how this translates to an aesthetic of mobility that is further discussed in terms of uncertainty
Aesthetics · Art · Filmmaking · Mobile phone · Movie theater · Sociology · Telecommunications · Visual arts · Computer Science · Digital Games and Media · Multimedia Communication and Technology
| Citations per year | 3 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2026 - 2026 (1) |
| Highly cited | No |