The Elusive Archives of "video indigena"

• In Event: Fragmentary Archives, Contingent Histories: Fieldwork in Cinema Studies

Abstract

How can we trace the multiple threads of such a varied corpus as "video indígena"? Largely neglected by national film archives, Indigenous video or "video indígena" from Abya Yala or the Americas is irregularly collected and precariously preserved. Indigenous film festivals have played key roles in bringing this work to light and circulating it within broader circuits, yet after their first round of exhibition, the works rarely find distributors, nor are they tracked by national film offices. This presentation will contrast the best practices and contested futures of the two major Indigenous video archives of the Americas, one in New York City and one in La Paz, Bolivia.

Author

• Amalia Cordova, New York University