Tuesday, May 6 - Sunday, May 11, 2008

Vídeo Amazônia Indígena: A View from the Villages showcases award-winning productions by indigenous videomakers from the Amazon of Brazil. Screenings take place at the Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) in New York and Washington, D.C., and other venues in both cities.

The showcase honors the work of the independent media organization Vídeo Nas Aldeias / Video in the Villages (VNA) which for twenty years has provided video training and production support to indigenous media-makers in the Brazilian Amazon to voice their stories and reflect the contemporary life of their villages.

Join us at our screenings to welcome indigenous videomakers from Ashaninka, Hunikui, Ikpeng, Kuikuro and Xavante communities, along with the VNA project directors, as they introduce and discuss their work.

Support for Vídeo Amazônia Indígena: A View from the Villages has been provided by the Smithsonian Latino Center and the Embassy of Brazil. Public funding has been provided by the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency.

Admission to all programs is free, unless otherwise noted. Program subject to change.

All works are presented with English subtitles.

Additional screenings take place at the NMAI in New York City and other venues in that city from May 1 to May 5.

THE VIDEOMAKERS

Vincent Carelli is a photographer, director and editor of documentary films, and the founding director of Video Nas Aldeias. He lives in Olinda, in the state of Pernambuco.

Mari Corrêa is a film director and editor, and the co-director of Video Nas Aldeias. She lives in Olinda, in the state of Pernambuco.

Takumã Kuikuro (Kuikuro) is a videomaker and member of the Kuikuro Cinema Collective. He lives in the Kuikuro village of Ipatse in Xingu Indigenous Park in the state of Mato Grosso.

Bebito Piãko (Ashaninka), also known as Valdete Pinhanta, lives in a village on the Amônia river in the state of Acre. He is currently collaborating with his brother Isaac on a documentary about the Ashaninka community’s handling of natural resources.

Divino Tserewahú (Xavante) is a videomaker from the village of Sangradouro in the state of Mato Grosso.

Kumaré Txicão (Ikpeng) is a videomaker and the president of the Association of Ikpeng People. He lives in the village of Moygu in Xingu Indigenous Park in the state of Mato Grosso.

Zezinho Yube (Hunikui) is a videomaker and an environmental agriculture agent certified by the Pro-Indian Commission of Acre. He lives in the village of Mucuripe, in the Praia do Carapanã indigenous territory in the state of Acre.

THE VIDEOS

• Back to the Good Land
• Crônicas de um Genocídio/They Shoot Indians, Don't They? Unreleased Director's Cut
• Daritidzé/Trainee Healer
• A Gente Luta mas Come Fruta /We Struggle but We Eat Fruit
• Iauaretê: Waterfall of the Jaguars
• Imbé Gikegü/The Scent of Pequi Fruit
• I've Already Become an Image
• Kiarasa Yo Sati/The Agouti's Peanut
• Kinja Iakaha/A Day in the Village
• Marangmotxíngmo Mïrang/From the Ikpeng Children to the World
• Meeting Ancestors
• Pirinop, My First Contact
• Shomõtsi
• The Spirit of TV
• Wai'a Rini: The Power of the Dream
• We Gather as a Family
• Xina Bena/New Era

SCHEDULE

VENUES

National Museum of the American Indian
4th Street and Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, DC 20024
Admission is free, admission to films is on a first-come, first served basis. No tickets are required, however you may need a Timed Entry Pass to enter the museum before the screening. For information: 202-633-1000
For direction and admission information, enter here.

VII Amazon Forum
Key Bridge Marriott Hotel
1401 Lee Highway, Arlington, VA 22182

National Geographic Society
1145 17th Street NW (between M and DeSales Streets)
Washington, DC, 20036.

PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS

VIDEO NAS ALDEIAS
Vídeo nas Aldeias (VNA) supports the production of video in numerous indigenous communities in Brazil and distributes the mediamakers' work internationally. For the past 20 years its ground-breaking activities have included the creation of an indigenous television show for local broadcast, the circulation of videos directly between indigenous villages, the facilitation of workshops, and the organization of national meetings of indigenous filmmakers. Um Olhar Indigena/Through Indian Eyes, a major retrospective of works from VNA was held in Rio de Janeiro in 2004 and in Brasilia in 2006. www.videonasaldeias.org.br

NATIONAL MUSEUM OF THE AMERICAN INDIAN
The National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) is dedicated to the Native peoples of North, South and Central America and Hawai'i. Founded in 1989 as the 16th museum of the Smithsonian Institution, its mission is to recognize and affirm to Native communities and the non-Native public the historical and contemporary culture and cultural achievements of Native people of the Western Hemisphere.
www.nmai.si.edu

FILM AND VIDEO CENTER
The Film and Video Center of the NMAI presents screenings and information services concerning Native film, video, radio, television, and electronic media throughout the Americas and Hawai'i. In March 2009, the Center will be presenting the 14th Native American Film + Video Festival. .
www.nativenetworks.si.edu (English)
www.redesindigenas.si.edu (Español)

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Support for Vídeo Amazônia Indígena: A View from the Villages has been provided by the Smithsonian Latino Center and the Embassy of Brazil.

PROJECT TEAM
Amalia Córdova, Latin American Program Manager, FVC
Nico Daswani, Project Associate, FVC
Elizabeth Weatherford, Senior Advisor, FVC
Melissa Bisagni, Mall Program Manager, FVC
Sierra Ornelas, Mall Program Assistant, FVC
Michelle Svenson, Advisor, FVC
Reaghan Tarbell, Program Assistant, FVC
Millie Seubert, Editor, FVC
Wendy Allen, Webmaster, FVC
Gaby Markey, Administrative Assistant, FVC
Mara Behrens, Designer

SHOWCASE PARTNERS
All Roads Film Project, National Geographic
Amazon Alliance
Amazônia Brasil
The King Juan Carlos I of Spain Center, New York University
Tribeca Film Fellows Program

SPECIAL THANKS
Mariangela Bitencourt-Emilio, George Firmeza, and Pabline Araújo Reis, Embassy of Brazil; Anna Claudia Agazzi, Alvise Migotto, Eugenio Scannavino Netto, Malú Ramos and Marcia Monteiro, FareArte/Amazônia Brasil; Joanne Flores, Smithsonian Latino Center; Francine Berkowitz, Smithsonian Office of International Relations; Ana Lourdes Silva, Migrating Media and Productions; Ana Carvalho, Ernesto Ignacio Carvalho, Amandine Goisbault, Olivia Sabino, and the staff at Vídeo nas Aldeias; Vincent Carelli, Mari Corrêa, Takumã Kuikuro, Bebito Piãko, Divino Tserewahú, Kumaré Txicão, and Zezinho Yube for traveling so far to come together for this project.

ADDITIONAL THANKS
Marcela Barros, Sally Berger, Francene Blythe, Monica Braine, Glenn Burlack, Elisabeth Castaldini, Devika Coles, Tania Cypriano, Adair Hill, Ali El Issa, James. D. Fernández, Tiokasin Ghosthorse, Faye Ginsburg, Carlos Gutiérrez, Beata Gutman, Rebecca Haggerty, Christine Halvorson, Kristin Iglum, Q'orianka Kilcher, Saskia Kilcher, Jodi Lasseter, Marísia Lauré, Edvania S. Leite, Valerie Lewis, José Alfredo Graça Lima, Peter Lucas, Lisa Lucas, Micky Mihich, Lucila Moctezuma, Mario Murillo, Ananiki Peoples, Davino Sena, Pamela Smorkaloff, Silvia Solís, Robert Stam, Trevor Stevenson, Laura Turégano, Ryan Valdez, Jesse Van Hoy, Janell K. Vaughan, and the many staff and volunteers at the National Museum of the American Indian who contributed to this program.

Image credit: Audience at Club Red Radio, 2000 Native American Film and Video Festival - photograph by Amalia Córdova, NMAI; postcard for Vídeo Amazônia Indígena: A View from the Villages