Documenting connection

How should humans and more-than-human animals connect?

Deep in the Bolivian Amazon, infant spider monkeys Ñoqui, Cesar, and Ness have been rescued from hunters and the illegal pet trade. But returning to the jungle without their mothers is no easy task. Arrested Autonomy follows their uncertain journey as they attempt to reclaim their place in the wild, questioning whether a second chance at true freedom is possible when that freedom must be brokered by humans.

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

One Day

***70 countries. one city. one day.***
docuseries exploring the international life of students at Minerva University

stream now

ADditional Projects

Chance for Freedom

Promotional Video for ONCA Rescue Center to support wildlife rehabilitation and release efforts in the Bolivia Amazon. Responsible for cinematography and editing.

Hindrance

Hindrance is an experimental short film that confronts the human and monkey interface. The film recognizes the shared destructive future is being forged as we continue to perpetuate undue harm among our nonhuman counterparts. Hindrance situates the viewer in discomfort in order to establish that the way we currently relate to the nonhuman world must change for the sake of others and ourselves.

Death of the Eel

The Japanese Eel, commonly consumed in countries like South Korea and Japan, is believed to increase masculine energy. However, overfishing of juvenile eels has put the population at risk of extinction. Currently, Japanese Eels can only reproduce in the wild, their breeding location still a mystery to humanity. In this short video, I call out the problems in eel industry and the necessity to reduce consumption in order to longevity of this mysterious species.