Participatory Film-Activism as a Tool for Community Engagement in Circular Economy Transitions: Assessing the Actionable Impact of Films

Abstract

The power of documentary films to raise awareness and shape public discourse on sustainability challenges is widely recognized. While documentaries effectively evoke emotions and capture attention, less is known about how they influence societal and cultural discourses. Participatory film-activism builds on the traditional impact documentary format by fostering dialogue and community-driven solutions, engaging viewers in discussions that explore barriers and opportunities for systemic change. My research explored how a participatory film-activism model could serve as a catalyst for engagement in the circular economy (CE) transition, focusing on stakeholder discussions in Santiago, Chile. I employed a qualitative study, with a nested pretest and posttest quantitative design, using a participatory film activism protocol and critical discourse analysis (CDA) framework consisting of six key stages: pre-survey, film screening, post-survey, facilitated dialogue, CDA, and outcomes reporting. Participants (n = 94) took a pretest prior to watching a screening of a short documentary on plastic pollution. Following the screening, participants completed a post-test. Then, they participated in facilitated dialogue to investigate how stakeholder discourses construct knowledge, what perceived barriers to CE adoption were, and to explore societal attitudes toward sustainability. Participants included university students, small-medium enterprise employees, and government representatives. Qualitative data from facilitated discussions were analyzed through combined inductive and deductive thematic coding using NVivo, followed by critical discourse analysis to examine language structures, power dynamics, and intertextuality. Quantitative data were collected through pre-post surveys measuring knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors related to CE principles, then analyzed using descriptive statistics, chi-square tests, paired sample t-tests, one-way ANOVA, and McNemar tests. Results revealed knowledge gaps and behavioral barriers to circular economy engagement, some partially addressed through the film screening alone, according to quantitative analysis. Qualitative discourse analysis surfaced systemic challenges in plastic management, exposed knowledge asymmetries as embedded power structures, and highlighted opportunities for targeted policy interventions. Quantitative data further demonstrated that these asymmetries contributed to power dynamics within CE discourse, with certain groups possessing significantly higher baseline knowledge. However, post-screening shifts in participants’ willingness to engage others suggest that participatory film-activism can function as a meaningful knowledge equalizer and dialogue catalyst. Notably, integrating qualitative and quantitative findings underscores the model’s potential as a scalable, low-barrier tool for surfacing exclusionary narratives, shifting perceptions, and fostering inclusive stakeholder engagement. While structural power imbalances remain challenging to address through education alone, this study provide early evidence that participatory film-activism can play a critical role in advancing community-driven sustainability transitions.