Personal Cinema and Digital Self-Representation on the Therapeutic Set

This chapter investigates personal cinema and digital self-representation therapeutic filmmaking as modes of emotional processing, trauma integration, and identity reconstruction. Drawing on Visual Anthropology, Self and Film Studies, it examines how the act of creating personal films enables individuals to externalize inner conflicts and reconstruct coherent narratives after trauma. Starting from the theoretical underpinnings of cinematic self-representation, the discussion articulates the concept of personal point of view and its relationship with audiovisual therapeutic techniques used on the therapeutic set as a peculiar therapeutic setting. In particular, the methodological exploration dwells on how participatory and performative digital self-telling is able to engage multisensory memory systems as well as to provide a creative container for meaning-making and self-review. In conclusion, the chapter describes the act of trauma reenactment and its audiovisual revision as valuable tools for treatment, recovery, and healing.