documentary

75 minutes

filmed at ONCA Rescue Center in Bolivia

Throughout my undergraduate degree, I lived and studied in 7 international cities, encountering many cases of human and nonhuman animal interactions—some friendly and some far less so. Amidst the human-led sixth mass extinction, I sought to explore how humans should connect with nonhuman animals, given that our interaction and interventions are what have killed so many, but also what is capable of saving those who remain.

Arrested Autonomy is my first step to exploring this question. Through a case study of a monkey rehabilitation center in the Bolivian Amazon, I spent three months living and working to understand how the center is giving these spider monkeys, often victims of the wildlife pet trade, a second chance at life in the wild.
This film is both a documentation and an exploration. It questions what it means for humans to connect: through touch and through distance. As a filmmaker, I was conscious of my presence and what it meant to point a lens at a being whose autonomy had already been compromised. I tried to create a space where the spider monkeys' agency, environment, and experience were not disrupted by or reduced to human-oriented assumptions and personifications.

My work is rooted in ethical wildlife filmmaking, guided by Umwelt theory and a deep sensitivity to power dynamics in conservation. The goal was not to speak for the monkeys, but to reflect on what it means to try and speak about them, imperfectly, humbly, and with tedious care. I invite audiences to reflect not just on the animals on screen, but on their own relationships with nature and the narratives we create about it.

This documentary is a love letter, a critique, and an open question. It’s for those who want to be closer to nature, ethically, thoughtfully, and with reciprocal consideration for the more-than-human life we share this planet with.

Director, Cinematographer, Editor: Stephanie Froebel

Translation: Mona Westphal