These films were shot in the towns of Ayata and Vitocota, Muñecas province, at 12,000 feet altitude, approximately 10 road hours northwest of La Paz. The area was inhabited by Aymara- and Quechua-speaking campesinos and mestizos, people of mixed Spanish-Indian descent. Its economy was based on mixed potato agriculture and small animal husbandry. See previews of each film below; the full versions are distributed by DER, and are available for purchase here, or may be requested in your local institution’s media center. The essays accompanying each film can be downloaded here.
Film Descriptions
Viracocha
Viracocha features mestizos and campesinos in the Andean highlands interacting within a near-subsistance economic system. Market days and fiestas provide opportunities for Spanish-speaking mestizos, alternately benign and abusive, to assert their traditional social dominance over the Aymara and Quechua campesinos. This film was awarded the 1975 certificate of exceptional motion picture achievement from the Chicago International Film Festival.
The Children Know
The deep division in Andean society between rural and townspeople begins at birth, is perpetuated by the schools, and continues throughout life. The film evidences the discrimination faced by the children of the rural and extremely poor campesinos. From different food arrangements at school to healthcare, there is a distinct divide between them and the town-dwelling mestizos. Evidence of the discrimination’s effects is unmitigated by the formal Flag Day festival that brings the two groups together, with the campesinos urging their own to stand up against the mestizos and stop appearing cowardly before them.
Potato Planters
An Aymara family plants potatoes, prepares and eats a meal, and discusses the religious and astronomical forces that control their destiny. The stark routine of this typical planting day contrasts with the complexity of their beliefs.
Andean Women
Aymara women voice a common paradox. In the film they express agreement with the dominant Hispanic ideal that women should be subservient to men and assigned to tasks appropriate to their limited strength and intelligence. Yet Aymara culture recognizes their equal contributions to survival. (Link to full film and Teaching Guide)
The Spirit Possession of Alejandro Mamani
An old Bolivian man nears the end of his life. He has property and status, but not contentment. Believing himself possessed by evil spirits, he opens his heart to reveal his anguish. His personal tragedy brings us close to every man’s confrontation with the unknown, old age, and death. This film received an award at the American Film Festival in the fields of cross-cultural psychology and psychiatry from the Educational Film Library Association, 1975. (Teaching Guide)
Magic and Catholicism
The people of the Bolivian highlands blend in thought and practice the traditional magic of the region and the religion of their conquerors. A fatal automobile accident, coincident with the festival of Santiago, provides occasion for unique expressions of both faith and magic in the effort to influence events. (Teaching Guide)
Photo Gallery
The 1972 film production in Bolivia included a still photography project in both black and white and color. The original negatives are held at the Smithsonian. Click below to view a selection of these photographs, mainly shot in Ayata and Vitocota. Captions to come.
Bibliographical References:
- Viracocha (30 minutes). Filmmakers Hubert Smith and Neil Reichline. Producer Norman Miller. Documentary Educational Resources, Watertown, MA, 1974.
- The Children Know (33 minutes). Filmmakers Hubert Smith and Neil Reichline. Producer Norman Miller. Documentary Educational Resources, Watertown, MA, 1974.
- Potato Planters (17 minutes). Filmmakers Hubert Smith and Neil Reichline. Producer Norman Miller. Documentary Educational Resources, Watertown, MA, 1974.
- Andean Women (17 minutes). Filmmakers Hubert Smith and Neil Reichline. Producer Norman Miller. Documentary Educational Resources, Watertown, MA, 1974.
- The Spirit Possession of Alejandro Mamani (27 minutes). Filmmakers Hubert Smith and Neil Reichline. Producer Norman Miller. Documentary Educational Resources, Watertown, MA, 1974.
- Magic and Catholicism (34 minutes). Filmmakers Hubert Smith and Neil Reichline. Producer Norman Miller. Documentary Educational Resources, Watertown, MA, 1974.