Headlines, Human Rights, Indigenous Rights, Latin America & the Caribbean

/ARTS WEEKLY/LATIN AMERICA: Indigenous Filmmakers Give Glimpse into Their World

Humberto Márquez

CARACAS, Apr 19 2005 (IPS) - A painter’s search in the Peruvian jungle for plants that would reproduce the colour blue served as the inspiration for the grand-prize winner at the latest Anaconda Awards, a regional competition for videos made in South America’s tropical rainforests.

But in addition to focusing on a specific geographical area, the Anacondas are also unique in that practically everyone involved in the competition is of indigenous descent, from the directors, scriptwriters and camera operators who produce the videos, to the juries, critics and audiences who appraise them.

The competition is organised by the non-governmental Regional Programme to Support Indigenous Peoples of the Amazon Basin (PRAIA).

"This is indigenous peoples’ art as expressed through images, and a way for them to share their creations among themselves, and with the societies in which they live," Juan Carlos Schulze, the Bolivian general director of PRAIA, told IPS.

This was the third edition of the biennial Anaconda Awards, an initiative originally directed at the indigenous peoples of the Amazon region, who comprise roughly 400 different ethnic groups with a total combined population of close to two million.

The scope was later expanded, however, when the organisers began to receive submissions from El Chaco, a vast arid lowland plains region stretching across northern Argentina and eastern Paraguay, and the Darién rainforest on the border between Colombia and Colombia.

For the prizes awarded this year, a totally of 135 entries were received from 11 different Latin American countries, from Mexico in the north to Argentina in the south, encompassing a wide range of subjects, genres, formats and running times.

An international jury shortlisted 20 works which were screened in a number of communities last October and November, where they were considered by juries representing 12 indigenous ethnic groups in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Panama and Peru.

When the results were tabulated, the Anaconda Grand Prize – along with 3,000 dollars in prize money – went to "Buscando el azul" (The Search for Blue) by Peruvian director Fernando Valdivia.

The Anaconda for best documentary was awarded to Eriberto Gualinga, a Kichwa Indian from Ecuador, for "Sachata Kishpichik Mani" (I Am a Defender of the Jungle), while the prize for best fictional work was captured by "Moyngo, o sonho de Maragareum" (Moyngo, the Dream of Maragareum), directed by Kumaré Txicâo, Karané Txicâo, and Natuyu Yuwipo Txicâo, members of the Ikpeng indigenous ethnic group in Brazil.

Bolivia’s Rubén Machado took the award for best experimental work, for "Teco".

The Search for Blue is a 45-minute documentary about Víctor Churay, a young Bora Indian from northern Peru, who was taught the secrets of the jungle by his father.

Using fibres collected in the jungle to produce canvases and paints made from flowers and seeds, Churay begins to create vibrantly coloured and detailed portraits of scenes from the life of his people, the exuberant vegetation that surrounds them, and the myths, stories, dreams and aspirations of the community to which he belongs.

His artistic endeavours – and his search for the blue pigment – bring him into contact with urban Peru, and after winning a national painting prize, he begins to travel back and forth between his home in the rainforest and the national capital, Lima. The first gift he brings his family from the fruits of his success is a TV set.

In the meantime, he pursues further studies, wins acclaim from galleries in Lima, enrols in university and participates in the student protests of 2000 that contributed to the overthrow of President Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000).

Among the new friends he makes is filmmaker Valdivia, who accompanies him on a number of trips back to the Peruvian Amazon to capture his natural surroundings, his activities and his opinions.

"These are people who lack material things, but have great spiritual power," says Valdivia, who believes that Churay’s initial search for "blue" evolved into a determination to narrate his community’s wants, needs and desires through his artwork.

This is what the young artist was striving to do when his life was cut tragically short on Apr. 15, 2002 in Lima. He was apparently a victim of armed robbery, although the case has never been clarified.

"Two minutes into watching ‘The Search for Blue’, I was totally wrapped up in this moving film, which perfectly captures its main character’s search for artistic creation," said Bolivian President Carlos Mesa – a former film critic and founder of the Bolivian Cinematheque – as he presented the Anaconda Grand Prize at the awards ceremony held in La Paz, Bolivia.

For its part, "I Am a Defender of the Jungle" is a 21-minute documentary recounting the 20-year struggle of the Sarayaku Kichwa indigenous community of Ecuador to defend their ancestral lands from prospecting by the Argentine oil company Compañia General de Combustibles.

"Moyngo", another award-winner, is a 44-minute re-enactment of the legend that gave rise to the tattooing ceremony performed on Ikpeng boys, revolving around the mythical character Maragareum.

PRAIA will begin the process of preparing for the next edition of the Anaconda Awards in 2006, with funding support from the Andean Development Corporation and the International Fund for Agricultural Development.