VERSION EN ESPAŅOL EN CORREO APARTE
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 farming 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, DePaul 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 montaņa 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.
For further information please contact: Alexandra Halkin at: [log in to unmask]
DO NOT REPLY TO THIS MESSAGE OR TO THE SUBMITTER. THIS WAS ALL THE INFORMATION GIVEN BY THE SUBMITTER: Clemencia Rodiguez [log in to unmask] .