Camara de Combate. Latin American film festival(s) as reflection-action

Abstract

Cámara de Combate is an artwork composed of series of banners inspired by revolutionary cultural movements originated in Latin America, namely, Third Cinema and Latin American conceptualism. I graphically rendered citations onto the robust material of banners, all taken from Third Cinema filmmakers, who first emerged in 1960s in an era of political upheaval in Latin America. They used the camera as a political weapon to engage revolutionary social, cultural, and political ideas in the region and to incite political consciousness and action. I made a direct correlation with Latin America’s contemporary political context as it relates to American, Canadian, and European interventionism and oppressive regimes, with Latin American Film Festivals situated outside of Latin America. Cámara de Combate, was exhibited in the patio of Vancouver’s Cinematheque as part of the seventeenth edition of the Vancouver Latin American Film Festival in 2019. Some of the questions explored within this artistic inquiry are, what is the role of artists living in the diaspora vis-à-vis Latin American political consciousness? What is the role of Latin American film festivals outside of Latin America in relation to audience and community participants? This text offers a reflection on my artwork and its line of investigation within a diaspora film festival space. I explore some of the philosophical and theoretical currents and political contexts that influenced this work and how it was received within the festival space.