Current research interest include:
Cinematic rituals to accompany the dying and continue communication with the dead.
Documentary Grief Practices in Times of Mass Violence.
Narrative medicine, shamanism and cinema.
First person film-making and representation of grief.
The history of tears and its representation.
Gender, madness & chronic illnesses.
The therapeutic benefits of visual art in palliative care, how creative expression can support patients, families, and caregivers during terminal illness and grief.
Ruth defended her PhD. at Autónoma University of Madrid in 2024 and was awarded Suma Cum Laude for her dissertation MENDING OBJECTS: Mourning and the self in contemporary non fiction.
ABSTRACT
Mending Objects explores the experience of the grieving process in anticipation of, during, or after the death of a loved one, as expressed through the non-fiction/documentary works of a selected group of filmmakers and visual artists, chosen based on the themes and modes of
expression in their works. Grief is presented as a process of consciousness, expressed through ritualized actions and represented in film, fostering care, memorialization, and healing for the filmmaker and participants. The study reveals a rich variety of narrative and formal
techniques—such as use of archival footage, reenactment, voiceover, and reflexive structures— while also identifying commonalities in their approach to grief and memorialization.
The general context in which this thesis is framed is the theory and practice of documentary cinema in relation to medical humanities, understood as an interdisciplinary academic field that connects health and medicine with the humanities (philosophy, ethics, history, and religion), the arts (literature, theater, visual arts, music), and the social sciences (sociology, anthropology, psychology, politics).
Mending Objects is structured around three methodological processes centered on the concepts of loss, ritual, and healing. First, a filmographic and bibliographic review for analysis; second, the creation of several audiovisual works; and third, the curation of public documentary film screenings and two practical workshops using documentary cinema as a healing tool. These three processes culminate in the writing of a research paper that proposes the original theory of the cine-therapeutic bubble.
The analysis highlights how filmmaking becomes a method of care, allowing filmmakers to accompany loved ones in their final moments and continue their relationships posthumously through the film. Actions like recording family objects and photographs, and recalling memories
serve as acts of love, translating loss into an ongoing, emotionally significant relationship. A key conclusion is that documentary filmmaking can function as a therapeutic ritual, enabling both the filmmaker and the audience to process grief and restructure their understanding of death and themselves. The concept of the "cine-therapeutic bubble" is introduced, where ritualized
filmmaking processes become a space for emotional healing, providing psychological, physical,
and emotional benefits.
The dissertation also considers the filmmaker as a shamanic figure who navigates the liminal space between life and death through creative acts. These cinematic rituals facilitates not only personal catharsis but also a communal experience of grief, challenging societal taboos around death. The works examined show that cinema can keep the memory of the deceased alive, offering viewers a way to empathize with the pain and experience of others, identify their own and heal through shared narratives of loss.
Ruth is a member of the Research Group Hist-Ex (Anthropology of Experience), currently working on the project: "Cultural History of Gestures", a research project funded by the Spanish Ministry for Science and Innovation 2024-2026
HIST-EX is a group dedicated to researching the history and philosophy of experiences. The group is made up of specialists from a number of different areas including cultural history, anthropology, history of science, philosophy, history of art, literature and linguistics, sociology, medicine, psychology, psychiatry and sports sciences, as well as a number of well-known creatives from fields such as photography, documentary cinema and painting.
