We are a collective that specialises in filmmaking as a tool for social change through community projects, campaigns, and research. Founded in 2021, we use lived experience storytelling to support wellbeing, employment pathways, and create authentic ways for organisations to communicate with audiences.
Our therapeutic interventions focus on wellbeing for individuals and communities by using filmmaking as a tool for self-expression and healing. We run workshops and longer term projects that give people space to explore parts of their life they are finding challenging. We then arrange community screenings, outreach and distribution to further uplift the voices of the individuals and raise awareness of marginalised experiences.
We work with organisations to create powerful, authentic films led by people with lived experience of the subject matter. We facilitate the filmmaking process by empowering people to tell their own stories in their own terms. In tandem, we create employment opportunities for people who have been through our therapeutic programs.
Our work also acts as an intervention for communities. We facilitate group filmmaking experiences to give people the chance to explore issues that their communities are facing.
We are researching the power of film as a therapeutic tool. We are looking for collaborations with academic institutions and researchers to expand on the data we have collected over 3 years with our film therapy program in partnership with mental health charity Mind. We are also seeking partnerships to use lived experience filmmaking to expand on the impact of research work through additional qualitative data.
Wondering CIC was founded by Matthew Somerville in 2021. Priya Biring works as a filmmaking facilitator and therapeutic support for our projects and Elena Escalante works with communications and business development. Matthew has been working as a documentary filmmaker for the past 15 years, and is also a trainee counsellor using the person-centred approach. Priya is an experienced Film and TV producer, trained in compassionate self-healing and emotional release work. Elena recently released her first short documentary and has been working across strategy and fundraising in community projects, as well as commercial production.
Over the past 4 years, we have created flexible employment for people who come through our programmes who are often out of employment. We do this by working on filmmaking commissions. We also offer peer support roles, taking people on a journey from being learners to teachers.