Film Exhibition of Native Peoples and Afro-descendants in CDMX

OAXACA, Oax. (apro).- Stories of resistance, new forms of organization, celebrations and families, preservation of the territory and community or individual challenges of filmmakers from indigenous and Afro-descendant communities in Mexico and Central America can be admired in the film exhibition that will be presented in the Zócalo of Mexico City and the Cineteca Nacional de las Artes.

The “Indigenous and Afro-descendant Film Festival”, made up of nine films made with the support of the Stimulus for Audiovisual Creation for Indigenous and Afro-descendant Filmmakers of Mexico and Central America (Ecamc), is held with the backing of the Ministry of Culture of the Government of Mexico. The presentation will feature the presence of some of the leading voices of indigenous peoples’ cinema, such as Luna Marán, Xun Sero and Ángeles Cruz.

Through the Mexican Institute of Cinematography (Imcine), in close collaboration with the Trust for the Promotion and Development of Mexican Cinema in Mexico City (PROCINECDMX), the exhibition will be held from July 6 to 14, 2024.

In this exhibition, where all screenings will be free and some will have the presence of the film’s directors, it will offer the opportunity for the public to learn first-hand about the experience of making these works, as well as the stories behind them.

Oaxaca has a predominant participation in this exhibition with four films: Ndatu Savi. The Luck of Water (2023), by Ignacio Decerega Barrientos and Cristóbal Jasso | Oaxaca – Spoken in: ñuu savi (Mixtec); Through Tola (2023), by Casandra Leyva Casasola | Oaxaca – Spoken in: Spanish; Valentina or serenity (2023), by Ángeles Cruz | Oaxaca – Spoken in: Wildebeest Savi (Mixtec) and Red Snapper. Behua Xiñá’ (2023), by Cynthia Lizbeth Toledo Cabrera | Oaxaca – Spoken in: Zapotec

The exhibition is completed with Mama (2022), by Xun Sero | Chiapas – Spoken in: tsotsil (bats’i k’op); My No Place (2022), by Isis Ahumada | Colima – Spoken in: Nahuatl and Spanish; Ch’ul be, Sacred Path (2023), by Humberto Gómez Pérez | Chiapas – Spoken in: tsotsil (bats’i k’op); Nyanga (2023), by Medhin Tewolde Serrano | Veracruz – Spoken in: Spanish; The Wait (2021), by Celina Yunuen Manuel Piñón | Michoacán – Spoken in: Tarasco (p?urhepecha) and Spanish.

They highlight that indigenous and Afro-descendant filmmakers occupy their rightful place in the broad and diverse panorama of Mexican cinema, since their films make visible the enormous cultural and linguistic wealth of the country.

They mention that the exhibition bears witness to the current situation of indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples in Mexico and Central America: cosmogonies, knowledge and everyday life that are recovered from the past; but also, the novelty and urgency that is manifested in the images they propose. They say that the films made with the support of Ecamc come from remote origins, but are also projected towards a present and a future that renews the notions of community and country.

The exhibition can be seen in the Zócalo of Mexico City, where there will be screenings on July 6 and 7, 2024, starting at 12:00 p.m.; while from July 8 to 14, the programming will be available at the National Arts Cinematheque. In addition, from July 7 to 31, 2024, the films can be enjoyed at different venues in the country, public television stations and Nuestrocine.mx, Imcine’s online platform.

Additionally, the book “Ecamc Memory 2019-2024: filmmakers of indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples, Mexico and Central America” will be presented, which brings together the experiences of filmmakers in the different stimulus processes, from the first drafts of their scripts, the filming processes, to their premiere in different national and international exhibition spaces.

Since its creation in 2019, Ecamc has accompanied indigenous and Afro-descendant filmmakers from different regions of Mexico and Central America so that, through their films, cinema projects a greater diversity of stories.

With this stimulus, the production or post-production processes of 68 films (short films and feature films, documentary and animation) have been supported, made by 31 women and 35 men from indigenous and Afro-descendant peoples of Mexico and Central America, as well as two non-Mexican women. natives.

As a whole, these projects have the representation of 32 native languages, among which are: Bats’i Vinikotik (Tsotsil), Chatino, Nahuatl, Ñuu Savi (Mixtec), Otomí, P’urhépecha (Tarasco), Yoreme ( mayo) and binnizá (zapotec). Of the 68 films, 12 have been completed, of which 11 have already been premiered at national and international film festivals.

These are: The Wait, by Celina Yunuen (Morelia International Film Festival 2021); Mom, by Xun Sero (Hot Docs Festival 2022 in Toronto); My No Place, by Isis Ahumada (Morelia International Film Festival 2022); Nyanga, by Medhin Tewolde (Riverrun International Film Festival 2023); Through Tola, by Casandra Casasola (UNAM International Film Festival 2023); Natu Savi, The Fate of Water, by Ignacio Decerega (Argentina International Political Film Festival 2023); Ch’ul be, sacred path, by Humberto Gómez (Guadalajara International Film Festival 2023); Jun O’ontonal-May the Heart Not Be Broken, by Gabriela Sanabria (Kinoki Cultural Forum Cinema Room); Valentina or Serenity, by Ángeles Cruz (Morelia International Film Festival 2023); Red Snapper, by Cinthya Toledo (Zanate Mexican Documentary Film Festival 2023), and Moonwomb, by Liliana K’an (Guadalajara International Film Festival 2024).