CUSAS: Adam James Smith, “Practical Tips on Documentary Filmmaking for Anthropologists”

Adam James Smith is a British-American documentary filmmaker based in New York. His work explores identity and migration across China’s rapidly changing rural and urban landscapes. His debut feature, The Land of Many Palaces (2015), follows farmers relocating to the “ghost city” of Ordos and their struggle to adapt to urban life. His second film, Americaville (2020), unveils a Chinese replica of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, and the lives of residents chasing their vision of the American Dream. His upcoming projects include Nighthawk, set in Shenzhen’s vast art factory, where a lonely painter shaped by Edward Hopper’s imagery wanders the night in search of connection, and In the Valley of Solace, about a young woman living off-the-land in a remote Yunnan river valley. Adam studied film at Stanford University and anthropology at the University of Cambridge, where he is currently an Affiliated Filmmaker at the Visual Anthropology Lab.

In this one-hour session, Adam James Smith will share practical insights into how anthropologists can use documentary filmmaking as a powerful tool for research, storytelling, and public engagement. Drawing from his own experience working in
China on films such as The Land of Many Palaces and Americaville, Adam will discuss strategies for developing trust with participants, navigating ethical and cultural sensitivities, and balancing observation with artistic expression. The session will also cover technical and logistical aspects of small-scale documentary production - from planning and field recording to editing and distribution - with an emphasis on how filmmaking can deepen ethnographic inquiry. The talk will be followed by a 30-minute open Q&A, inviting students to discuss their own projects, challenges, and questions about integrating film into anthropological practice.

Students who are engaged in some kind of filmmaking project and who would like to briefly present their work, questions and challenges to Adam during the session, for his input and advice, are invited to sign-up in advance (those who are just attending / participating 'normally' in the Q&A do not need to sign-up). Please email Joe Beadle at jjlb2@cam.ac.uk