La revolución tule
This film documents the struggle for autonomy of the inhabitants of the region known as the “Comarca Kuna Yala” located on the Caribbean coast of Panamá. Documenting the Kuna people’s contact with local authority figures as well as their interaction with international politicians in their efforts to preserve their culture and history in the second half of the 20th century, this film represents a renewed effort to maintain a sense of autonomy in the region.
La revolución tule was produced as part of the ongoing La Poderosa Media Project (LPMP), which provides youth in different Latin American locations with the knowledge, tools, and skills needed to produce documentary videos about issues relevant to their lives and communities.
Focusing on small groups (15-25 students), LPMP organizes intensive two-month digital video production workshops. Both theory and practice are covered following these three stages: pre-production (scriptwriting, directing, storyboard, etc), production (camera operation, sound recording, lighting), and post-production (editing, sound mixing, distribution, etc).
Each workshop culminates with finished projects that are screened for the community, distributed to students and participants on DVD, and archived on their website (www.lapoderosa.org) allowing people everywhere to view these films.
An additional goal of this project is to provide equal access to resources and training to different demographic groups in various locations. With the help of modern digital video technology, we travel with minimal equipment and work with communities where the notion of mobile professional production is still uncommon and unfamiliar.
Once the workshops are over, LPMP provides professional assistance to local participants so that they can start their own production companies. Also, LPMP provides the necessary equipment in order to start these companies (with a basic kit including one digital video camera, one computer, editing software, and mics).
For more information please visit www.lapoderosa.org
