(Please pass on to all lists!!)
CHIAPAS MEDIA PROJECT/Promedios FALL TOUR 2005
The Chiapas Media Project/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.
The Chiapas Media Project/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. The CMP/Promedios is currently
distributing 22 indigenous produced videos worldwide.
The CMP/Promedios has presented their videos at numerous
universities, museums, and film and video festivals around
the world. The CMP/Promedios has 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.
The 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 the 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
cmp@chiapasmediaproject.org
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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.
hopeful