ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we draw on a diversity of perspectives from scholars and Indigenous filmmakers in Latin America to provide an overview of major achievements and ongoing challenges in the field of Indigenous media in Latin America today. We highlight what we consider to be key contributions from Indigenous media scholars and practitioners from Latin America that have shaped key academic debates in recent years. The chapter is structured in four short sections. In each of these we discuss one of these contributions, illustrating it with examples from several pivotal films produced by Indigenous filmmakers from what today constitutes the living archive of Indigenous cinemas of Abya Yala. We start with the significant way in which Indigenous social movements have developed an activist imaginary as part of ongoing struggles for cultural and political recognition. Then we move to a discussion of how Indigenous projects have been crucial for projects that call for a rebuilding of communal life and a rethinking the land (el territorio) as a critical source of knowledge. The third section reflects on how Indigenous video has positioned itself as a process of revitalization of languages and spirituality, an ethics and a politics of care for Mother Nature, and a profound epistemology that claims that another world—a flourishing world—is possible. The closing section looks at the politics of the archive and the need to rethink the resilience and sustainability of Indigenous video practices over time.
