Latin American Film Series --- Winter 2008
as part of
FVC 125 E/ SPN 125 E
Indigenous Media and Latin America
We will be screening a selection of rarely shown documentaries and fiction films
made by indigenous media activists or with significant participation of
indigenous actors. Several of these films and videos are not usually
commercially distributed. They have, however, been seen by audiences in rural
indigenous and peasant communities and at international indigenous film and
video festivals. All films are subtitled or spoken in English.
Screenings are free and take place every
Tuesday at 07:10 pm - 10:00 pm in SURGE 173
All are welcome. Hope you can make it!
1/15 TRINKETS AND BEADS (USA 1996, 53 min.) documents the lives of the
Huaorani, Ecuadorian indigenous peoples who, after 20 years of pressure
from foreign oil companies, agreed to allow oil-drilling on their land.
Focuses on the introduction of massive environmental pollution and
cultural change, and the tribe's subsequent efforts to regain control of
their lives and lands.
1/22 Kayapo-Out of the Forest (UK 1989, 52 min.) part of the Granada Television
Company’s “Disappearing World” Series, this documentary attests to the
vitality of Kayapo and Xavante Indians who organized dispersed
communities and successfully resisted the building of a hydroelectric dam
on the Xingu river.
1/29 Taking Aim (Brazil and USA 1993, 40 min.), directed by independent
Brazilian filmmaker Monika Frota and postproduced at the University of
Southern California. Taking Aim includes footage shot by Kayapo
videomakers. It shows how these young videomakers appropriated video
technology, which they had demanded in compensation for their
participation in the Granada TV documentary Kayapo- Out of the Forest.
2/5
Video in the Villages Presents Itself (Brazil 2002, 33 min.) & Jungle Secrets
(Brazil 1998, 37 min.). Directed by Mari Corêa, Video in the Villages
Presents Itself gives an overview of the Video nas Aldeias project, which
was founded in 1987 to give indigenous communities control over their
own images. The video details the project's achievements, including the
creation of an indigenous television show. Includes interviews with
videomakers and community members, and behind-the-scenes shots of
the conceptualization and execution of the community-based videos.
Jungle Secrets is a collection of 4 shorts. Waiãpi stories of ancestors and
forest monsters are acted by tribe members who intend the videos to be
shown to other Indians to make them beware of threats from outside
forces, such as white men, to their lives and traditions.
2/12 Yawar Mallku/Blood of the Condor (Bolivia 1969, 89 min.). A classic by
Bolivia’s foremost filmmaker Jorge Sanjinés and his Group Ukamau. A
Quechua community enacts a story based on true events, the sterilization
of indigenous women by the Piece Corps in the 1960s. The film spurred
international debate and contributed to the eventual ousting of the Piece
Corps from Latin America.
2/19 Qulqi Chaliku/Vest Made of Money (Bolivia 1998, 25 min.) & Qati
Qati/Whispers of Death (Bolivia 1999, 35 min.) Made by a multiethnic
organization of indigenous videomakers (CAIB) and non-indigenous
collaborators and advisors (CEFREC), both of these low-budget fiction
shorts are based on traditional stories and set in rural communities in the
Bolivian Andes. Vest Made of Money tells of story of avarice, death and
insanity. Qati Qati is an ward-winning fiction short based on a tale of the
walking dead. Both films attest to the strategy of adapting popular
Hollywood genres (horror) to Aymara and Quechua weaving and
storytelling traditions.
2/26 El Oro Maldito/Cursed Gold (Bolivia 1998, 25 min.) & Llanthupi
Munakuy/Loving Each Other in the Shadows (Bolivia 2001, 50 min.) Made
by a multiethnic organization of indigenous videomakers (CAIB) and nonindigenous collaborators and advisors (CEFREC), both of these lowbudget fiction shorts are based on traditional stories and set in rural
communities. The shorts attest to the evolving skills of indigenous
videomakers. Featuring Aidée Alvarez, Cursed Gold is a melodramatic,
allegorical tale set in the subtropical Coca producing Chapare region;
the melodrama Loving Each Other in the Shadows criticizes Quechua
patriarchy.
3/4 ABORTO SIN PENA
Screening and discussion with filmmakers Gregory
Berger (Anglo USA) and Estela Kempis (Otomi/Nahuat).
For more information please contact Freya Schiwy (freyasch@ucr.edu)