(Please pass on to all lists!!)
CHIAPAS MEDIA PROJECT/Promedios FALL TOUR 2005
Chiapas Media Project (CMP)/Promedios seeks university, cultural and
community-based sponsors to host screenings on our Fall Tour 2005. The
tour will feature new videos produced by indigenous video makers from
the states of Chiapas and Guerrero, Mexico. Dates are scheduled on a
first come, first-served basis and fill up fast, so please contact us
as soon as possible.
CMP/Promedios is an award winning, bi-national partnership that
provides video equipment, computers and training enabling marginalized
indigenous and campesino communities in Southern Mexico to create their
own media. CMP/Promedios is currently distributing 22 indigenous
produced videos worldwide.
CMP/Promedios have presented their videos at numerous universities,
museums, and film and video festivals around the world. CMP/Promedios
have done presentations at Georgetown University, Columbia University,
La Trobe University, Melbourne, Sundance Film Festival, Smithsonian
National Museum of the American Indian, Museum of Modern Art, NYC,
Margaret Mead Film and Video Festival and the Intl. Human Rights Film
Fest in Buenos Aires among others.
Alexandra Halkin, CMP/Promedios Founding Director will present the
videos. Presentations last between one-and-a-half and two hours,
include video screenings and a discussion on the role of indigenous
media and self-representation in the context of the current
socio-political situations in Mexico and Latin America. A Q & A session
follows the video screening. Presentations can be done in either
Spanish or English. Sponsors need to provide a video projector, a VCR
with audio system and comfortable seating.
CMP/Promedios asks for an honorarium based on the means of the host
organization to help continue the work of the CMP/Promedios. Press
kits are available that include articles on CMP/Promedios, bios, photos
etc. Please check our web site: www.chiapasmediaproject.org for more
information.
For further information, please call Alex or Aasia at 773-583-7728 or
e-mail us at
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"The Chiapas Media Project is remarkable! This project is a rare and
powerful example of how indigenous people are using the weapons of
technology and trans-nationalism to make their voices heard and advance
their struggles. Not only are their videos wonderful teaching
resources, but their presentations inspire students and faculty alike
to rethink old ideas about indigenous cultures, and forge new ties of
solidarity."
Maria Elena Garcia, Assistant Professor of Anthropology, Sarah Lawrence
College
“CMP videos inform and inspire--the videos are gems. CMP presentations
are lively and instructive, going beyond the background we need to
understand the videos to provide hard-to-get updates on contemporary
rural Mexico. We hear the wonderful stories behind the videos and learn
about the process whereby video makers and communities interact to
shape video story and imagery.”
William H. Fisher, Associate Professor of Anthropology, William and
Mary College
“The CMP presentation led our students to a place where idealism and
courage confront injustice. It is evident that the CMP videos and the
discussions that followed have had a long-term impact; students refer
to the Zapatistas repeatedly. In times when young people can be
overwhelmed with feelings of insignificance, we are grateful for the
opportunity to challenge the cynical world fostered by commercial
media.”
Janice Windborne, Ph.D. Dept. Media, Journalism & Film, Southwest
Missouri State University
“The films have a powerful human component that you just can not get
from secondary sources about the injustices occurring in Chiapas and
Guerrero. Bringing the event to the Fresno State campus provided a
setting for exposure and learning that otherwise would not be present.
Its artistic and informative.”
Maria Sofia Corona-Solyluna, Fresno State M.E.Ch.A/USAS
“CMP documentaries are an essential point of entry into the world of
indigenous resistance. CMP videos accomplish their goal of telling the
story from the perspective of the indigenous by implementing the
concept of autonomy in their approach to video production. These
documentaries are an irreplaceable guide for understanding the
autonomous movement and why it is a workable alternative to corporate
controlled globalization.”
Glen David Kuecker, Assistant Professor of Latin American History,
DePauw University
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DESCRIPTIONS OF NEWER VIDEOS AVAILABLE FOR SCREENINGS:
***videos are now available for purchase at
www.chiapasmediaproject.org***
We are Equal: Zapatista Women Speak
(Spanish and Tzeltal with English subtitles, 18 minutes, 2004)
Zapatista women speak about what their lives were like before the
uprising in 1994 and how their lives have changed since. A very
upfront and critical look at gender relations within the Zapatista
communities - how far women have come and how far they still need to
go.
Water and Autonomy
(Spanish and Tzeltal with English subtitles, 14:12 minutes, 2003)
Many of the indigenous communities in Chiapas have no access to potable
water. Water and Autonomy looks at this serious problem and how the
Zapatista communities are solving it. Through solidarity and training
from internationals many communities are now building their own water
systems. Members of the communities speak about ways the water project
fits into their autonomous process, helps fight sickness, has provided
a means of reflection for how to protect existing water sources and
represents another means of resistance to globalization projects like
the Plan Puebla Panama.
Caracoles: New Paths of Resistance
(Spanish with English subtitles, 42 minutes, 2003)
Produced in August 2003 in the communities of Oventik and Morelia by 18
Zapatista video makers, Caracoles is a celebration of the death of the
Aguascalientes and the birth of the Caracoles and the Good Government
Assemblies. Various members of the Zapatista leadership discuss how
these changes will affect internal political and economic processes,
gender relations, and their relationship to international civil
society. The video is an open call to join with the Zapatista
communities in their struggle for recognition of their autonomy and in
their fight against neo-liberal economic policies and globalization.
Eyes on What’s Inside: The Militarization of Guerrero
(Tlapaneco and Spanish with English subtitles, 2004)
Inez and Valentina, two indigenous women from the montaña region of
Guerrero were raped by Mexican soldiers. Eyes on What’s Inside looks at
the economic, social and political factors that lead to these rapes.
The Organization of Indigenous People Me phaa (OIPM) share their story
but it is really the story of many indigenous communities in Guerrero.
Discussed are the destabilizing effects of the military presence on
indigenous communities, and how the increasing poverty/marginalization
of the population has contributed to the formation of armed guerilla
groups and the presence of narcotrafficking. The Mexican Constitution
lays out the internal role of the military and Guerrero presents a
clear example of how the military acts outside of it’s constitutional
mandate.
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