Indigenous audio-visual
project
The Film and Video Center of the National Museum of the American Indian is a national centre for
information about audio-visual products made by or about indigenous peoples in the Americas. In addition
to maintaining an archive and making a collection of hundreds of works available for viewing at the
Museum, the Centre helps media-makers by providing information on exhibitions, distribution, and funding.
It also provides educators, curators and media professionals with access to information on indigenously
oriented works and their makers.
In order to increase awareness of indigenous media in Central and South America--who produces it, what
types of works are available, and how these works are used in relation to indigenous and non-indigenous
communities--and to facilitate contact between indigenous producers in Spanish and Portuguese-speaking
countries, and the organizations in the United States and Europe that fund and distribute such productions,
the Center is initiating the PAVI project. PAVI stands for Indigenous Audio-Visual Project (Proyecto
Audio-Visual Indigena in Spanish, Projeto Audiovisual Indigena in Portuguese). It will include a survey of
individuals and organizations in 26 countries of South and Central America who are knowledgeable about
indigenous works on audio, film, and video in this region. Information gathered in the survey will be stored
in a computerized database that will be accessible to individuals and organizations interested in these
media.
The centre would like to cast its net as widely as possible. Readers are asked to send names and addresses
of anyone who might be able to provide more information on indigenous media products in Central and
South America. These could be film or radio producers, distributors, exhibitors or organizations serving
indigenous communities. We also welcome information on any Latin American work you might know of
that should be included in our database. Please send information to:
Elizabeth Weatherford or Catherine Benamou, 3753 Broadway at 155th Street, New York, NY 10032,
USA. Tel: +1-212-283 2420. Fax: +1-212-491 9302.
Treasures of Ethiopia
This 70-minute video film describes Ethiopia's genetic heritage and the role of farmers in conserving and
developing it. The film also shows the activities of the Plant Genetic Resourses Centre of Ethiopia in
combining traditional knowledge and modern science to foster the conservation and utilization of the
country's genetic heritage. Price: S400 (payment in Austrian schillings only). The video film is available in
English, German and Dutch in VHS PAL (other formats by special request). (DEEP/September
1993)
Contact: WILDart, Wilhelm Exnergrasse 23/32, 1090 Vienna, Austria.
In good hands: culture and agriculture in the Lacandon rain forest
'In good hands' (1993) is a 27-minute colour video film which explores the sustainable agriculture of the
Lacandon Maya. These rainforest people live in the southernmost part of Mexico: in the Chiapas region,
where fighting took place several months ago. The video is narrated by Dr. James Nations, an ecological
anthropologist with Conservation International, who has been visiting the Lacandones since 1976. While
inappropriate slash and burn agriculture contributes to the destruction of the world's rainforests, the
complex farming practised by these native people allows them to live in the forest without destroying it. Dr.
Nations visits three Lacandon elders, whose traditional agriculture is reflected in their story, song, and
prayer. The traditional agricultural knowledge of the Lacandon Mayan people is doubly important because it
provides a model for living and farming sustainably in the rainforests. If tropical forests are to be managed
effectively, policy-makers should listen to people who have been doing it successfully for centuries. The
video film is available in English, Spanish and Northern Lacandon Mayan with English subtitles. It costs
US$49 for residents of the USA and US$51 for people outside the USA (postage included in both cases).
Please make checks payable to Jaime Kibben.
Contact: Jaime Kibben and Steve Bartz, 30 Berry Street, San Francisco, CA 94107, USA.
Tel: +1-415-243 8612. Fax: +1-415-243 9623.