Participatory Video

The Fogo process refers to work on Fogo Island, Newfoundland, in the late 1960s, where filmmaker Don Snowden and the National Film Board of Canada filmed islanders discussing their problems and screened the footage to build shared understanding and dialogue with government. Rather than an outsider's documentary, it used film as a community communication and organising tool. It is regarded as the founding example of Participatory Video because it established the principle of putting film in the service of community voice and dialogue.

Both, but practitioners stress the process. Much of PV's value lies in what happens during the making — participants gain confidence and skills, analyse their own situation, debate priorities, and build collective agency — and in the catalytic screenings where communities see and discuss themselves on screen. The film is then a powerful vehicle for voice and advocacy. Treating the polished product as the only goal undermines the empowerment that distinguishes PV from conventional filmmaking.

Because PV records identifiable people and may circulate their views to authorities and the public, informed consent, privacy, and safety are central concerns, especially on contentious issues where participants could face reprisals. Facilitators must avoid steering content toward an external agenda, ensure participants control how footage is used, and manage expectations so that advocacy films do not promise change that cannot be delivered. Ethical practice treats consent as ongoing and participant-controlled rather than a one-off signature.