Frames of Resistance: The Cinemas of Abya Yala

While the strength of contemporary Latin American cinema is recognized worldwide, less is known of the cinema of Indigenous communities in the region, a territorial expanse known as Abya Yala. Even so, and even as these Indigenous filmmakers face ongoing challenges--including persecution, state violence, and a lack of infrastructure or funding--they have still managed to flourish over the past four decades, using cinema as a powerful tool for promoting advocacy and fostering self-determination. How do these filmmakers disrupt foundational narratives about their communities, and how does their cinema articulate Indigenous knowledges or provoke a rethinking of society, history, and planetary wellness? Frames of Resistance attempts to answer these questions as it counters the perception of Indigenous cinema in Latin America as an isolated and marginal practice. Instead, it positions this cinema as a sophisticated expression of Indigenous worldviews while delivering a comprehensive look at its origins, trends, and regional differences. Amalia I. Córdova Hidalgo examines how Indigenous filmmakers make their cultural vitality visible on the screen as she explores the development of collectives, analyzes select works, and uncovers the links between these filmmakers and global cinema. She foregrounds first-person accounts of this movement through new translations of excerpts from these films, as well as the speeches, interviews, and pronouncements by filmmakers at live events. The result is a book that builds upon Indigenous principles of organization and reciprocal ways of being with proposals for teaching practices, circulating these films, and ensuring long-term access to this important body of work.

About the Author

Amalia I. Córdova Hidalgo is a Supervisory Museum Curator at the Smithsonian Institution's Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, where she co-directs the Mother Tongue Film Festival. She was a Latin American program specialist for the Film + Video Center of the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of the American Indian, served as Assistant Director of New York University's Center for Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and taught at New York University's Gallatin School of Individualized Study.