Three years ago, filmmaker Alberto Muenala crowfunded his latest feature film Killa (Before the Moon Rises). The drama is a landmark for its role as the first feature to fully use the Kichwa language spoken by those living in the Ecuadoran Andes. As we discussed in our initial piece on the film “the entire production, along with key creative roles” were also being carried out by a group of self-identified Kichwa to tell a story about a photojournalist wrapped up in government corruption after taking photos of a “shady mining operation.”
But in that time Killa hasn’t been seen by many audiences abroad and now it will be getting its New York premiere. On June 17, New Yorkers attending the May Sumak: Quichwa Film Showcase will receive the opportunity to watch Killa – with an accompanying Q&A with director Muenala – as well as attend panels about Quichwa filmmaking, indigenous female directors, and more. The May Sumak: Quichwa Film Showcase is a free event meant to celebrate indigenous filmmaking, especially films made in the Quecha languages of the Andes.
You can see Killa (Before the Moon Rises) on the third day of the May Sumak: Quichwa Film Showcase at 1 p.m. on June 17 at NYU’s King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center. Further details on the film showcase can be found here.