DocSalon 3: Is Empathy Enough?

The capacity to place ourselves in another person’s shoes is a valued trait, so it’s hardly surprising that reports of waning empathy are so disconcerting. Fiction has been praised for its capacity to develop empathy, but what happens when real life is the subject? Documentary, too, brings us stories, characters and perspectives beyond our own – can documentary be a tool for empathy? And when the subject is the real world, what are the problems with making empathy the goal? Is it even empathy we’re looking for? Join us for a public discussion with filmmakers, programmers, and you, the audience, as we take the pulse of documentary today by asking: ‘Is empathy enough?’ Chaired by Dr Leshu Torchin (University of St Andrews). [15]