May Sumak, an initiative led by Andean-based communities and organizations working from the values of strengthening, has announced a special online edition of their annual traveling Quechua film showcase to take place on October 16, 23, and 30.
The showcase features Andean self-representation stories and histories. The goal of the organizers is to inspire Andean peoples of the diaspora to harness the power of their experiences to create art through media making. From this foundation of culture and community, May Sumak manifests as a traveling film showcase featuring three days of Quechua film screenings, discussions, and workshops revolving around Quechua in the Americas.
This year’s series kicks off this Friday, October 16 with the program “Away Pacha” (Weaving Time & Space) featuring short fiilms that speak to or depict the realities of the Andean diaspora in Abya Yala, including Rimanakuna by Sacha Samay Arcentales Cajas, Ñuka Yawarmi by Rocio Flores Huaringa, La Ch'alla by Jennifer Albaracin, and Runa Llakta by Kichwa Hatari. The program will host a Q&A with filmmakers Eli Farinango and Albaracin, moderated by Kichwa Hatari, and will be followed by a live performance by Peruvian rapper and songwriter Liberato Kani.
The following Friday, October 23, May Sumak will present the program “Ayllukunamanta Yuyay” (Memories of Community featuring a selection of five short films that speak to the continuity of relationships across migratory realities: Bronx Llaktamanta by Doris Loayza, Quechua in Seattle by Chaska Rojas-Bottger, Manos Obreros by Jennifer Albaracin, Kikinyari by Sairy Tupac Gualan, and Katary by Esteban Lema. The program will host a Q&A session with directors Loayza and Rojas-Bottger, moderated by the Quechua Collective.
And the third program, titled “Sinchi Sapi” (Strong Roots) will take place on Friday, October 30. This program will screen the feature film Mothers of the Land / Sembradoras de vida by Diego and Álvaro Sarmiento. The documentary follows five women from the Andean highlands in their daily struggle to maintain a traditional and organic way of working the land. In the Andean worldview, women and the earth are strongly interrelated. Both, a women’s body and the earth’s soil are capable of giving and nurturing life. In the context of the ever-growing industrialization of agriculture, the use of chemical pesticides and genetically modified seeds is a woman, who, connected to the earth through bonds of sisterhood, takes on the role of protectors. The streaming will be followed by a Q&A with the filmmakers, moderated by the Quechua Project.
For more information visit: www.maysumak.com/virtual
