Documentary, media activism and anti-austerity in Greece: the #greekdocs archive

This article presents the digital archive #greekdocs, a researcher-initiated practice. This work has both a theoretical and a practical aim. Theoretically, it critically analyses and situates alternative media such as independent documentaries within media ecology in times of austerity and argues that in the context of Greek austerity these operate as both journalist and activist practice. Practically, it offers a media resource of independent productions of various themes, all of which aim to redress narratives of the crisis and its multiple impacts on society. Diverse and inventive in their reframing of the crisis, they have addressed questions of its impact on media, politics and society. The article theorises #greekdocs within media ecology, mediatisation and media culture in Greece, and argues that independent documentaries produced under conditions of austerity are at the intersection of journalism and activism.