Children at the ‘Taller de Cine Rodante’ (Photo: La Grifa)

Cinema is a part of our cultural fabric. It combines visual, verbal and musical components to tell a story (our story, everyone’s story). Outside the city, going to the cinema is more difficult and in a country that prides itself on film, this seems confounding. Some of the country roads are difficult to handle and those who have ventured Ruta 40 through Patagonia can attest to it. The terrain and lack of media infrastructure make it difficult to connect people and interweave the people’s stories. Even though the city life may seem more familiar, the rural Argentine identity is fascinating and still remains to be explored.

The NGOs Fundacion Ruta 40 and La Grifa have taken on the challenge of artistically integrating the different stories of rural life. They have also taken on a different angle: the child’s perspective. Together, the organisations hope to teach children how to make short films and share them with other children of the country. They believe this will create a better understanding of one’s identity as an Argentine in Latin America. By helping develop this awareness, the organisations hope it will also provide a better sense of their roles as community actors.

The people at Fundacion Ruta 40 have driven throughout Argentina’s interior, specifically around Ruta 40. Through their travels, they encountered people who taught them a lot of what rural life was like in Argentina. It inspired them to give back by donating money and time to provide the kids an opportunity at learning about their own country through film. So far, they have worked with 23 schools.

Ruta 40 Organisation

La Grifa travels around Argentina offering workshops on creating short-films and collecting these small stories in, what they refer to as, their “backpack”. This organisation started in 2009 with Colectivo Salpicón, but are now working on their own. So far, the trio of Ailén, Josefina y Delfina have been helping build children’s creativity through learning how to create three animation-shorts, audiovisual games and flip-books. When La Grifa leaves, they take the small films to other schools to show other children the kinds of projects have been created by other kids in the country.

“Taller de Cine Rodante” as a project is to keep travelling to various provinces in the nation teaching and working with children to realise their creativity. Their current project hopes to reach three rural schools in Salta in August. The creations will be versions of stop motion film with the children telling their own story, combining elements of their history, expressions of their personality, designing the script, as well as making the titles, credits and the poster.

The project is looking for financing for their August trip to Salta, specifically targeting El Trigal and two other rural schools close to Cachi and La Poma. The funds raised will also help the group get materials and a camera that will stay at El Trigal school so that the children can continue to create stop-motion animation.

So far, they have 65% of their funds raised. You can learn more about the project or help fund it through their idea.me campaign.

Yesterday in Bogotá, the capital of Colombia, people protested against the big mining and energy projects. The aim was to raise awareness about the effects of these projects on the land and the environment.

The protest began on Monday 14th March, the International Day of Action against Dams, for Rivers, Water and Life.

The first demonstrations were held in the regions of the country which were mostly affected by the mining and energy projects and ended yesterday in the country’s capital.

The demonstrations were aimed to appeal to the defense of territories, the debate and the construction of a policy that respects the food and energy sovereignty.

It also raised the need to generate alternatives to the extractive model imposed by the capital’s private and transnational firms. The people who protested noted that these companies simply ignore the needs and demands of the people and that they violate the rights of those living in the territories.

Organisations like the National Network of Affected People also have been participated in the demonstrations. As well as communities which have been affected by the Colosa Mine and the Social Movement for Defense of the Sogamoso River.

The dam-affected network said the “large mining and hydroelectric projects have resulted in violation of rights, dispossession of land, involvement of ways of survival and a strong attack on the country’s indigenous cultures. ”

It ultimately charged that “the ongoing projects will displace over ten thousand people and affect the livelihoods of even thousands more. ”

Story courtesy of Agencia Púlsar, the news agency of Amarc-Alc