My work experience and research interests centre in Documentary Film, Visual Anthropology and Critical Animal Studies (CAS), to which I bring twenty years experience in animal advocacy and six years in film-making. My passion is to use the medium of film not only to pursue research, but also to share findings more broadly with the general public through accessible, motivating short films and documentaries.

I recently completed a Master’s degree in Art History & Visual Studies (2019) and a BA (Hons) degree with a double major in Anthropology and Art History & Visual Studies (University of Victoria, 2016). My SSHRC-funded Master’s research project, conducted at the University of Oxford and in London, examined the critical role of livestock agriculture on climate change, and the key role of documentary films in bridging the persistent social awareness gap. This research paper was awarded the University of Victoria’s 2019 Lieutenant Governor’s Silver Medal (non-thesis). Employing filmmaking to conduct and share research, my interests span a broad range of critical animal studies addressing exploitation of animals, human-animal relationships, interspecies empathy and cooperation, and social movements promoting plant-based dietary initiatives.

Modern relationships between human- and non-human animals are complex and wide ranging. Cognitive ethology studies are offering us better understanding of animal species’ intelligence, social complexity, emotions, and intra- and inter-species cooperation that challenge long-held assumptions of human exceptionalism. These discoveries cast a revealing light on the range of human/non-human animal relationships, from positive examples including companions and working partnerships (such as service animals and animal-assisted therapy partners), to exploitative relationships including animal abuse, factory farming, habitat destruction and extinction.  I see film as a powerful tool both to conduct and to share this research, as my studies in both Anthropology and Art History have reinforced the importance of “the visual” in human experience.

Films about the late nineteenth-century Arts and Crafts Movement that I created in the Art History & Visual Studies Department at UVic can be viewed here:

• William Morris & the Arts and Crafts Movement
• The Arts and Crafts Movement in Britain and North America

When I’m not working I can often be found hiking with my family and German Shepherd, or exploring the shoreline at one of our nearby coves. Enjoy this little seaside drama that played out recently between a seagull and two crows … another example of crows’ use of cooperation and problem-solving to achieve a desired goal:

(click full-screen for high-definition)

Contact: cecil [at] uvic.ca