The workshop examines how images of science are weaponised to project state power. By viewing the crime laboratory as a cinematic stage set, Anna Engelhardt and Mark Cinkevich will analyse archival newsreels to reverse-engineer the props, equipment, and visual cues that project scientific legitimacy. This process reveals how the machinery of science functions as both a literal and symbolic apparatus of police control. Rooted in the key method behind our film Terror Element (2025), we will uncover how science is staged to construct narratives of authority framed as objective truth.

The workshop explores “critical fabulation” (S. Hartman) as a counterforce to these embedded narratives. Inspired by the use of montage and voice-over in documentary, the workshop group will examine how narration creates an imaginary scene from visual traces. Participants will engage with archival footage, shifting the viewer’s identification to challenge the authority of these images and reimagine their meanings.

The workshops takes place on 29 Jan, 12:00 – 18:00.