FESTIVAL OVERVIEW
The 5th Morelia International Film Festival (www.moreliafilmfest.com) once again brought together independent and accomplished filmmakers, presenting works in competition, special screenings, documentaries, panels and side events to a faithful audience, filling the streets and theaters of the historic downtown of Morelia in the state of Michoacán, Mexico.
This year, over 30 Native works screened both in competition, and in the First Nations Forum (FNF), a free, three-day screening program with two panels. Nine indigenous directors from Mexico presented their works and engaged in lively discussions at panels, screenings and press conferences. The forum is expected to continue as a part of the festival’s commitment to showcasing Native works, and has grown in scope to embrace global indigenous production.
Renew Media announced it 2007 Mexican Fellows, which this year gave a Special Award to José Alfredo Jiménez (Tzotsil) of Chiapas, for his documentary project on the massacre of Acteal. Jiménez is known for his video Radio Chanul Pom, about the struggles of the Las Abejas community and their pioneering radio station, and which was screened at the NMAI’s 13th Native American Film and Video Festival in 2006.
Local city papers from Morelia, national cultural publications and the most prominent Mexican journal La Jornada covered the festival, the Renew media Awards and the First Nations Forum held on October 9 – 12, 2007.
NATIVE WORKS IN COMPETITION
• A cielo abierto, José Luis Matías (Nahua) and Carlos Efraín Pérez Rojas (Mixe). Documentary.
• Axuni Atari/Cazador de venados, Raúl Máximo Cortés (P’urhepecha). Documentary.
• Camino a una massacre/A Massacre Foretold, Nick Higgins. Documentary. *Screening included a Q&A with members of the Tzoltsil organization Las Abejas: Pablo Romo, Javier Ruiz Pérez and José Alfredo Jiménez.
• Cochochi, Laura Amelia Guzmán, Israel Cárdenas. Feature about Raramuri youth.
• El Camino Mayo con la Otra Campaña, Nicolás Défossé. Documentary.
• La frontera infinita, Juan Manuel Sepúlveda Martínez. Documentary.
• Miss Navajo, by Billy Luther (Navajo). Documentary.
• La Pesadilla Azul, Roberto Olivares/Mal de Ojo Collective. Documentary.
FIRST NATIONS FORUM
Presented by the festival’s Artistic Director Shannon Kelley and academic advisor James Ramey, the First Nations Forum sought create a permanent space for exhibition and discussion around Native media at the Festival, screening 26 works from six countries and presenting two panels over a three-day period. Simultaneous Spanish/English interpretation was offered throughout the forum (screenings and panels), and local students attending the forum were eligible to receive academic credit.
The programming for this first version was taken from UNESCO’s ICT4ID program, along with other works selected by UNESCO’s cultural officer Frederic Vacheron. The program opened with the documentries Xiña Bena/Nuevos tiempos, by Zezinho Yube (Hunikui) and produced by Video nas Aldeias, followed by Guenati’za: los que vienen de visita, by Yolanda Cruz (Chatina). All panels and screenings were free and open to the public, and took place at the Teatro José Rubén Romero, right across form the festival’s main venue, the Cinépolis multiplex theater. Screenings averaged 25-50 people per program.
Teatro José Rubén Romero
Works screened in the FNF program:
• Al Son De Mi Familia, Johanna Valdiviezo Zevallos, Peru
• Apu Oncco: Una Voz, Un Sueño En Los Andes, Victor Jesus Ñahui De La Cruz, Peru
• Atltzatzilistli, José Luis Matias (Nahua), Mexico
• Bordando Libertades, Deshilando Condenas, Tonatiuh Díaz, Mexico
• Cheranasticotown, Dante Cerano (Purhepecha), Mexico.
• Dulce Convivencia, Filoteo Gómez, (Mixe), Mexico
• Ecuanasia Yahua, Roberto Chavez & Karina Terrazas, Bolivia
• El Cargo, Raúl Máximo Cortés (P’urhepecha), Mexico
• Empujados A La Ciudad: Jose, El Niño Carretillero by Miguel A. Pretil Ñahui, Peru
• Eso Viene Sucediendo, Fabiola Gervasio (Mixe), Mexico
• Guenati’za: los que vienen de visita, Yolanda Cruz (Chatina), Mexico/U.S.
• Imbé Gikegü: Fragrancia De Pequi, Takumã Kuikuro (Kuikuro) & Maricá Kuikuro Kuikuro(Kuikuro), Brazil
• Je Suis Un Rasta, Paul-Jules Lehoumbou, Bill Loussou, Ernest Mavoungou, Estimé Mbithé, Jean – Louis Ngoubamé, Léonard Odambo, Gabon
• K’evujel Ta Jteklum: Cancion De Nuestra Tierra, Pedro Daniel Lopez (Tzoltsil), Mexico
• La Leyenda De Los Vientos De Fuego, Zenaida Pérez (Mixe), Mexico
• La Senda Del Danzante, Maribel Nahui Pretell (Quechua), Peru
• Les Sentiers De L’integration, Paul-Jules Lehoumbou, Bill Loussou, Ernest Mavoungou, Estimé Mbithé, Jean – Louis Ngoubamé, Léonard Odambo, Gabon
• Los Antiguos, Boris Bani & Estaban Espejo, Bolivia
• Los Leco: Pasado y Presente, Guido Alfaro, Bolivia
• Mirando Hacia Dentro: La Militarización En Guerrero by Carlos Pérez Rojas (Mixe), Mexico
• Pirinop (Mi Primer Contacto), Maria Corrêa & Karané Ikpeng (Ikpeng), Brazil
• Radio Chanul Pom, José Alfredo Jiménez (Tzotsil), Mexico
• Sacha Runa Yachay, Eriberto Gualinga (Kichwa), Ecuador
• Semana Santa, Pavel Rogríguez (P’urhepecha), Mexico
• Soy Defensor De La Selva, Eriberto Gualinga (Kichwa), Ecuador
• Sueños Binacionales, Yolanda Cruz (Chatina), Mexico/U.S.
• Tzintzuntzan Semana Santa, Pavel Rodriguez (P’urhepecha), Mexico
• Xiña Bena/Nuevos tiempos, by Zezinho Yube (Hunikui), Brazil
• Yavarete: Cascada de los Jaguares, Vincent Carelli, Brazil
Indigenous Peoples’ Conference:
Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2007, 4 p.m.: “Las Cámaras de la Diversidad” (Cameras of Diversity)
Presentation by Fréderic Vacheron, cultural specialist for UNESCO’s Regional Office for Latin American and Caribbean Culture. Mr. Vacheron introduced a new initiative of UNESCO, known as the Network for the Dissemination of Indigenous Cinema: Las Cámaras de la Diversidad, with the aim to facilitate networking and international visibility for media from and amongst indigenous communities of the world. More information is available at: http://www.lacult.org/noticias/showitem.php?lg=2&id=914.
Thursday, Oct. 11, 2007, 12 p.m.: “Cerca y Lejos: Comunicación Local y Global” (Near and Far: Local and Global Communication) Organized and moderated by scholar Jesse Lerner.
Speakers: Yolanda Cruz (Chatina), Pedro Daniel López (Tzotsil), Pavel Rodríguez (P’urhepecha). Respondents: Adrián González Camargo of the CVI-Michoacan and director of the Muestra Nacional de Video Indígena, Amalia Córdova , NMAI Film + Video Center (FVC).
Starting from the premise that some works screened in the FNF were intended for local use only, scholar Jesse Lerner invited indigenous filmmakers and institutions working in indigenous media to discuss the different objectives and projections of locally-produced community media circulating in global circuits. Some discussion points were: What considerations must be taken into account when making media for a local audience? For its international distribution? What are the advantages or disadvantages of such productions?
Filmmakers discussed their own experience producing at the community level, and problematized the term “Native video,” which is a concept that has been drawn around their work, sometimes limiting and at other times empowering them. Yolanda Cruz identified a real need to tell stories in fiction format, in Native languages.
Respondents addressed the existence of support networks including the Comisión de Desarrollo de Pueblos Indígenas (CDI) in Mexico, and the CLACPI festivals.
SIDE EVENTS
• Ambulante, a Mexican traveling documentary showcase organized by Canana Producciones, announced its 2008 tour. The 2008 Ambulante Documentary Tour will travel to 16 Mexican cities from Feb 1 to April 24, 2008, culminating in the state of Chiapas. Ambulante was created by Mexican actors Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna. Mexican indigenous directors from Chiapas, Michoacan and Oaxaca met with Mr. García Bernal and discussed an eventual Native component to the tour.
• Women in Film and Television (WFT) Breakfast
A breakfast meeting of women involved in film and television was held October 12. About 30 women attending the Festival presented themselves and discussed their involvement with women’s media. Marina Stavenhagen, director of the National Cinetheque of Mexico and head of WFTV-Mexico, presented the bronze Muse, a new award that WFT will be presenting from now on at the Morelia International Film Festival to the best feature directed by a woman. Among the professionals present were Madeleine Bernstorff, programmer of the Oberhausen International Short Film Festival, Gabriela Gamez of ISUMA, and Almudena Carracedo (director, Made in LA). The meeting was organized by the Mexican branch of Women in Film and Television International, co-organizers of Mexico’s annual International Festival of Women in Film and Television.
• Renew Media held a press conference on October 9 to announce its 2007 Mexican Fellows, and offered a party that same night in their honor. Lucila Moctezuma, Director of Media arts Fellowships, highlighted Renew Media’s 20th anniversary. Since 1988, the Rockefeller Foundation has awarded 83 media artists from México, in addition to 450 in the U.S. and Latin America.
The 2007 fellows are Iria Gómez Concheiro (for a feature project), Luis Felipe Hernández Alanís (animator), Francisco Vargas (director of El Violin) and José Alfredo Jiménez (Tzoltsil communicator), recipient of a special award. Each fellowship consists of $20,000.00, and Jiménez will receive $10,000.00. It’s the first time Renew Media gives a Special Mention. With this award, José Alfredo Jimenez, will proceed with his documentary project, Acteal, 10 años de impunidad y cuántos más..., a challenging work that will honor the memory of the 45 villagers that lost their lives in a paramilitary attack on December 22, 1997.
For the second year in a row, Renew Media has partnered with the Latin American Pay Television Service (LAPTV), which owns Movie City. Marcelo Boccia, corporate press officer of LAPTV, expressed his company’s interest in supporting Latin American artistic expression and making it available to a greater international audience.
• Bird Runningwater (Cheyenne/Mescalero Apache) of Sundance’s Native Forum met with Yolanda Cruz (Chatina) and Pedro Daniel Lopez (Tzoltsil) to discuss possible collaborations with Native directors from Mexico. Other filmmakers, scholars and programmers that engaged with the native programs: Joseph Beyer (Sundance programmer), Antonio Zirión (director, Las Ultimas Memorias Vivas).
• On Thursday, Oct. 11, 2007, Shannon Kelley hosted a dinner for the FNF participants at a local restaurant. Press appeared and took stills.
• At a master class with director Alejandro González Iñarritu, Pedro Daniel López intervened and commented on community expectations of the “real” and the editing process. “What we do as artist-communicators demands a reality that is no longer real but cut by- for example, I taped a week-long ceremony and produced a work that was half an hour long. When I showed it in my community, they said that wasn’t real, and where was all the rest? So we made an effort to make two versions, a short one and a five-hour one.” His comment sparked a discussion and was mentioned in the festival’s review of the event (see press list at end).
• Director Arthur Penn received a lifetime award from Daniela Michel, director of the MIFF. The festival screened a selection of his works including Little Big Man and Bonnie and Clyde, which was followed by a Q&A with Mr. Penn.
• Press conference on shorts & docs. Native communicators were acknowledged for their work, and were interviewed by journals and specialized publications such as Proceso magazine at press conferences.
AWARDS
2005 Morelia International Film Festival Awards
• Best Short from Michoacán: Axuni Atari/Cazador de venados, by Raúl Máximo Cortés (P’urhepecha)
• Special Documentary Mention to Frontera Infinita, by Juan Manuel Sepúlveda.
Renew Media Mexico Fellowships
On October 13, Renew Media announced its 2007 Mexico Media Fellows: Iria Gómez Concheiro, Luis Felipe Hernández Alanís, Francisco Vargas and José Alfredo Jiménez (Tzoltsil), recipient of a special award. Renew Media offered a party that same night in their honor.
PRESS COVERAGE OF NATIVE EVENTS
• Clausuran 5 FICM (awards announcement) by Clara Sánchez: http://www.moreliafilmfest.com/2007/ES/DesplegarNoticia.asp?IdNoticia=562
• Alejandro González Iñárritu comparte experiencia con cineastas, by Clara Sánchez: http://www.moreliafilmfest.com/2007/ES/DesplegarNoticia.asp?IdNoticia=560
• Arrancó el Foro de los Pueblos Indígenas dentro del Festival Internacional de Cine de Morelia, by Carlos F. Marquez, La Jornada de Michoacán, 10/10/07. http://www.lajornadamichoacan.com.mx/2007/10/10/index.php?section=cultura&article=017n1cul
• Renew Media, 20 años de apostar por la creatividad de los cineastas, by Carlos F. Marquez, La Jornada de Michoacán, 10/10/07. http://www.lajornadamichoacan.com.mx/2007/10/10/index.php?section=cultura&article=017n2cul
• Camino a una masacre: denuncia del terror paramilitar entre los indígenas, by Carlos F. Marquez, La Jornada de Michoacán, 10/10/07. http://www.lajornadamichoacan.com.mx/2007/10/10/index.php?section=cultura&article=016n1cul
• For more information: www.moreliafilmfest.com
