“Let’s Get Cellphilming: Reflections on Cellphilming with Children”

Filmmaker: Hossein Khodadadi

Running time:10 minutes 37 seconds

“Let’s Get Cellphilming: Reflections on Cellphilming with Children” is a short documentary that explores why cellphilming practices matter, especially in a world that urgently needs fresh, authentic narratives. It shows how a smartphone becomes an open invitation for those routinely ignored—children, teens, elders, everyday bystanders—to speak their truth. Shot entirely on an iPhone Let’s Get Cellphilming blends footage of children making their own films with reflections from researchers, filmmakers, and community scholars. This meta-story reveals how a simple cellphone can merge digital literacy with equity, diversity, inclusion, and accessibility to spur real social change. Drawn from hours of dialogue, the film urges us to pause, hear the quiet stories we overlook, and amplify them—so grab your phone, hit record, and help break the silence. The film builds on more than a decade of work with cellphilming at McGill’s Participatory Cultures Lab (PCL), led by Distinguished James McGill Professor Claudia Mitchell. Home of the McGill International Cellphilm Festival dating back to 2013, the PCL brings together researchers, doctoral and masters students, undergraduate interns and NGOs collaborate to advance visual and other participatory methods—digital storytelling, photovoice, cellphilming, collage, and related arts-based techniques—for collecting, analyzing, and mobilizing research data. The lab addresses social-justice concerns—including youth sexuality, HIV/AIDS, gender-based violence, food security, poverty, and children’s ethics and agency—championing young people’s right to express themselves on matters that are of their concern.
 

The original publication of this film is on the Participatory Cultures Lab (PCL) website at McGill University:
https://internationalcellphilmfestival.com/?page_id=3783

 
 

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