This year’s Indigenous Film Festival ended by looking to the future, after the governor of Argentina’s Chaco Province announced the creation of the Escuela de Cine Indígena. “Today we confirm la Escuela de Cine Indígena and an invitation to tell our own stories by those who are capable of doing so,” Jorge Capitanich said, according to Nodal. The initiative will exist within the Instituto de Cultura through Ley 26.522. Students will learn the basics of filmmaking, and get help producing their own films. The program will target more than 30 different indigenous groups, such as the Qom, Wichí, and Mocoví.
Schools that guide indigenous filmmakers in the art of moviemaking are nothing new. In 1986, Vídeo nas Aldeias was launched to tell the stories of the indigenous peoples of Brazil. It wasn’t until 1997 that VNA started a training program. “VNA began distributing video cameras and exhibition equipment to communities, and creating a network of circulation for the videos that were being made in this context,” the website reads. Since VNA started, they have created more than 70 films and won awards and accolades along the way.
(via Nodal)