Colombia
Colombia Delegation
October 28-November 12, 2010
Filmmaker: Aaron Woolf, King Corn & Big River
Expert: Larry Hott
“King Corn, which takes a critical look at the US industrialized food system and the government policies that support it, might be seen in South America as a portrait of pitfalls to avoid in the future, rather than a critique of an extant system. But we developed the idea that the film might also be used as a launching point for a larger series of workshops on independent digital distribution.” – Aaron Woolf
“We started with a screening of Through Deaf Eyes for the large school for the deaf in Bogotá. More than 90 students and faculty attended, and the response was overwhelming. They peppered me with questions for nearly an hour. The same thing happened that evening when we showed the film to a mixed crowd of deaf and hearing Bogotanos at the Museo de Arte Moderno. The audience had to be asked politely to stop asking questions so we could leave the auditorium!” – Lawrence Hott
Delegate Report
Aaron Woolf
As someone who has spent years in Latin America––first as an apprentice for a Peruvian film production––then on numerous trips throughout the region producing documentaries, I had long bristled with the oversimplified perceptions that seemed to flow back and forth between the United States and the rest of the hemisphere.
I had always felt it was a kind of national duty to help broaden the discussion, but I struggled against two things. First it seemed that there was never enough time, especially during production trips, to have in-depth, meaningful interchanges. Secondly, there has been such a paucity of nuanced material produced by North Americans that has global reach, that it has been hard to argue against the shallow perceptions of American cultural products that so pervade Latin America.
The American Documentary Showcase went a long way toward addressing these issues––both on a personal level and on a larger plane as well. By making available a whole catalogue of recent American documentaries as part of the tour, our featured works, Through Deaf Eyes and King Corn, became components in a varied and complex portrait of the contemporary United States, one that is both pride-filled and self-critical but rarely boastful. It was truly an honor to help form part of this more subtle vision.
My first experiences with the ADS tour took the form of a direct meeting with expert Lawrence Hott in New York City, in which he provided excellent advice on how to prepare for the trip. This advice was complemented by a series of telephone conversations and e-mails with Pilar Cabrera, of the US Embassy staff in Bogotá. It was with her that I initially attempted to tailor the message of my film King Corn for a South American audience.
The film, which takes a critical look at the US industrialized food system and the government policies that support it, might be seen in South America as a portrait of pitfalls to avoid in the future, rather than a critique of an extant system. With Pilar, we developed the idea that the film might also be used as a launching point for a larger series of workshops on independent digital distribution. She passed this information on to festival organizers in Barranquilla, and the themes we discussed there were featured in a number of presentations throughout the tour.
Barranquilla
I arrived in Barranquilla and hit the ground running, heading directly to a screening at the Pensar Lo Documental (Thinking About Documentary) festival in Barranquila. The film was Ava Gaitán Rocha’s feature meditation on Brazilian politics and culture, Intervalo Clandestino, and its non-narrative technique and hyper-close-up montages launched a vigorous and sophisticated discussion of documentary film form. Thinking about documentary, indeed.
In Barranquilla at the Pensar lo Documantal festival, Larry and I both served on a number of well-attended panels in which panelists would make opening statements followed by debate and audience Q&A. We discussed distribution, funding, production and the meaning of the digital revolution in cinema. Again and again I was surprised and pleased at how spirited the discussion became and how well organized the activities were. As invited filmmakers, we had a fairly rigorous schedule with an average of three different presentations per day, but there was also adequate time to mingle and attend other screenings.
Accompanying us for most of the events was the Chief Cultural Attaché in Colombia, Rex Moser, who has extensive knowledge of Colombian art traditions, and was adept at both ceremonial and more vernacular encounters with Colombians. But his greatest strength was his ability to court potential recipients for the various kinds of American cultural support that are available, and to gently make everyone in the room aware that US foreign policy had a less aggressive side, one that valued artistic interchange at many levels.
Medellin
This ability was most pronounced in Medellin where Moser badgered local filmmakers into applying for American cultural grants and then made a tremendous splash at the School for the Deaf and Blind, in the wake of a stirring screening of Larry’s film, Through Deaf Eyes, by announcing a number of scholarships that might be available for study in the US.
It is fitting that on a US State Department-sponsored trip that some of the most valued connections that both Larry and I made were with our own Embassy representatives, with whom we lodged and dined and spent countless hours on bumpy roads. These individuals were realists: not uncritical of US policy but fiercely patriotic and determined to allow the best of who we are as a nation to have a visible presence abroad.
I was more keenly aware of the legacy of the American cultural mission abroad in Medellin, where much of our activities were arranged through the Centro Colombo Americano––one of a number of Cold War-legacy American culture centers in major cities throughout the country. These centers, now autonomous, have evolved into an American equivalent of the ubiquitous Alliances Françaises throughout the world. They teach English and promote American cultural events. As such, they were apt hosts of the cycle of American documentaries in this year’s showcase. In Medellin, we were hosted by Andrés Murillo of the Centro, who did a great job setting up venues in two area universities while keeping us well fed and interviewed by local press. Among the films we brought were Through Deaf Eyes and American Masters John James Audubon: Drawn From Nature.
In Medellin, we also began a tradition of creating and marketing our own venues as well. We reached out to Martha Ligia Parra, film critic at El Tiempo and astute fan of the documentary genre, who had moderated panels in Barranquilla. She helped us set up an additional screening at the Pontificia Universidad Bolivariana and, even better, assigned attendance at the event to her communications students.
Delegate Report
Lawrence Hott
I can say, without reservation, that the American Documentary program in Colombia was a great success. We had tremendous support from the US Embassy staff, and equally helpful support from the numerous arts organizations, festival organizers, community centers, high school, and universities involved. Aaron Woolf could not have been a better presenter. Not only is he fluent in Spanish, he is a charismatic speaker, enthusiastic traveler, boon companion and an excellent filmmaker. I was honored to be his partner on this adventure.
The programs began with e-mail and phone conversations with the at the Embassies. In Colombia we had extensive conversations with US Embassy Cultural Affairs specialists Pilar Cabrera and Rex Moser, who put me in touch with Ricardo Restrepo, director of the film and arts organization Alados.
I had the advantage of having presented workshops with my wife and film partner, Diane Garey, and film expert Patrick Murphy, the previous year in Ecuador. Therefore, I had an idea of what films, materials and approach would work best. A key element to success was to have a great variety of material at hand, especially short clips. Among the films we brought were Through Deaf Eyes and American Masters John James Audubon: Drawn From Nature.
Ricardo Restrepo graciously offered to provided Spanish subtitling for four, five-minute clips from other Florentine Films/Hott productions. These clips were an invaluable tool for starting discussions about environmental issues and film, ethics questions, production values, and interview techniques.
Bogotá
Deaf students & teachers giving the sign for Colombia
We started work early in the morning with a screening of Through Deaf Eyes for the FENASCOL (Federación Nacional de Sordomudos de Colombia), which is a large school for the deaf in Bogotá. More than 90 students and faculty attended, and the response was overwhelming. They peppered me with questions for nearly an hour. The same thing happened that evening when we showed the film to a mixed crowd of deaf and hearing Bogotanos at the Museo de Arte Moderno. The audience had to be asked politely to stop asking questions so we could leave the auditorium!
The following morning I presented a three-hour workshop at the Cinemateca Distrital. The workshop was for film and TV professionals and advanced students from Bogotá universities and was part of the 12th International Documentary Encounters Festival. The three-hour time slot gave me enough time to present the entire Audubon film, four clips and portions of Through Deaf Eyes.
The festival organizers then took me and nine other filmmakers out for an extended lunch and conversation. The result was an interchange of ideas about films in production and issues in Latin America that lasted for many hours.
Cali
Cali was hosting a major film festival and we were programmed at many venues. I was interviewed by television and radio stations and participated in a press conference with other filmmakers from around the world. For the next two days, I presented several three-hour workshops to students and adults at various venues in the city, all of which were well organized and well attended. The local film festival organized lunches with other filmmakers and faculty members so we could meet one another and talk about issues of shared interest.
Colombia has the good fortune of having a strong network of Bi-National Commissions, organizations formed to teach English and provide arts programming in various cities. In Cali, JoEllen Simpson, director of the Centro Cultural Colombo Americano, the Bi-National Commission in Cali, and Michael Cadena, Colombo’s cultural director, helped arrange press conferences, programming and meetings with city and university officials. One evening, I was invited to discuss documentary filmmaking in the United States with 45 adult English students who displayed a profound interest in cultural and political issues. They were particularly interested in the views that Americans have of Colombia in general and Cali specifically.
Pereira
Pilar Cabrera and Ricardo Restrepo
In the city of Pereira, I presented workshops at the Universidad Andina de Pereira and the Universidad Tecnológica Film. The Pereira experience was much like Cali, but the city is more intimate and the workshops had a more personal flavor. Luz Marina Velasquez, financial and administrative director of the Centro Colombo Americano (Bi-National Commission of Pereira) provided logistical support for press conferences, meals and tours of the city.
Barranquilla
I continued on to Barranquilla to meet filmmaker Aaron Woolf and Rex Moser, the chief cultural affairs officer from the US Embassy. In Barranquilla, we participated in a major, week-long film festival. I was met at the airport by Natalia Algarin, a festival organizer and employee of the García Marquez Foundation, whose planning and energy were crucial to our success.
Aaron and I participated in a series of well-attended panel discussions on cinema verite, editing, the differences in production between the US and Latin America, and the process of pitching and producing films. The festival made sure that we had plenty of time to talk with other filmmakers, festival attendees and the press.
Aaron screened King Corn and I showed Through Deaf Eyes to large audiences of 100 people in a beautiful theater. Both screenings were followed by moderated discussion of the issues in the films.
The highlight for me in Barranquilla was the screening of Through Deaf Eyes at Colegio Salvador Suárez Suárez, a small school for the deaf with few resources and a rundown facility. The turnout for the screening was so large that the group had to be divided into two classrooms. But the students could not have been more grateful for the opportunity to discuss the contrast between American and Colombian deaf communities.
Medellin
We started a series of programs in Medellin, which included workshops and press conferences at the Universidad Luis Amigo, the Universidad de Medellin and the Centro Colombo Americano. Our hosts, Andrés Murillo, director of the Colombo, and Mauricio Lopera, academic coordinator for the Colombo, provided logistical support, introductions, meals and resources.
We also had a special screening of Through Deaf Eyes at the School for the Deaf and Blind in Medellin. At the end of the session, Cultural Affairs specialist Moser announced the availability of scholarships for students who were able to use American Sign Language.
Summary
One reason for the success of the American Documentary Showcase in Colombia was that the Embassy staff coordinated with both the Bi-National Commissions and film festivals. As a result, we had built-in systems to work with. In the case of the festivals, there were already arrangements for theatres and audiences, dinners, panels and press. The Bi-National Commissions do arts programming year-round, so they had all the necessary contacts and experience.