Bolivia: Igniting Reel Change - Photo Gallery

photographs by James Stairs and Delphine Denoiseux

On behalf of Oxfam-Quebec, documentary filmmaker Frédéric Julien and his partner Delphine Denoiseux are sent to Bolivia to help shed light on some of the major issues facing indigenous communities. The duo team up with Franklin Gutiérrez Zarate, a Bolivian teacher and documentary producer with the non-governmental organization Centro de Formación y Realización Cinematográfica (Centre for Cinema and Film Making). The aim of their project is to help young aboriginal Bolivians construct four short films, each of which exposes a current social issue and attempt to re-establish their identity. The filmmakers act as mentors to the native Bolivians, providing them with the skills necessary to develop local and national media organizations, which can play a major role in addressing the traditional inequality faced by Bolivia's aboriginal population.

Produced with the support of the Government of Canada through the Canadian International Development Agency.

Frédéric Julien, a Montreal documentary filmmaker, chats with his team prior to shooting. Julien is one of the project mentors, sent to Bolivia to help the filmmakers express their ideas and teach its native people the skills to help develop local and national media organizations.
Delphine Denoiseux

The corner room on the third floor of the Residencial Sucre is very different from the other rooms in this hotel in downtown Copacabana, Bolivia. The windows are closed and the drapes are pulled, preventing light and noise from the cobblestone streets below from disturbing the eleven people who are packed inside preparing the documentaries.
Delphine Denoiseux

Beds and furniture have been removed and a pile of mattresses lines one wall. The room glows with the light emitted by four large computer monitors. Small groups huddle around work stations in each of the four corners of the room, pointing at the screens in deep discussion.

Delphine Denoiseux, a Belgian journalist sent to Bolivia on behalf of Oxfam-Quebec, brainstorms story ideas with team members in Copacabana.
James Stairs

Members of the film crew in Copacabana take a brief break to pose for a photo. They are part of the 18 young aboriginal participants working with Julien and Denoiseux to create documentary films exploring aspects of their lives and the issues facing their communities - including water pollution, inequality, and the effects of globalization on small rural villages and their people.
Delphine Denoiseux

"Actress" and film crew member in Copacabana and Cochabamba, María Huarina Mamani and her daughter, Brigite.
Delphine Denoiseux

Another native Bolivian film crew member in Copacabana, Elias. He, along with the others, are using film as a means to tackle the serious issues facing his community of 6 000 people, which sits on the shores of Lake Titicaca, high on the Bolivian altiplano.
Delphine Denoiseux

Reynaldo Yujra is a facilitateur of CEFREC (Centre for Cinema and Film Making), a non-governmental organization that provides technical training in film and video for the indigenous people of Bolivia and assists in producing and distributing their work.
Delphine Denoiseux

Film crew members, Reynaldo Yujra (left), Stif Pizarro (centre), and Francisca (right) working hard in Marke Qosco.
Delphine Denoiseux

Standing in central Copacanbana and squinting into the afternoon sun, project participant and 18 year old, Sandra Chuquimia talks about the film she has just completed, looking at the issue of economic migration.
Delphine Denoiseux

Sandra's parents, migrant workers who left the small rural village of Chachapoya for the major urban centre of La Paz.
Delphine Denoiseux

On set in Copacabana. Silence...action!
Delphine Denoiseux

Filmmakers interview Jorge, a traditional dancer in the community.
Delphine Denoiseux

The crew capture native Bolivians performing the traditional dance called, "Espijillani".
Delphine Denoiseux

Reporters carry out interviews for Radio Copacabana, Copacabana's current indigenous radio station - part of a larger national aboriginal network. Plans to add a community television channel represents a major victory in a decade-long battle for visibility and equality.
Delphine Denoiseux

In the community of Camacachi, the crew films a fishing scene on Lake Titicaca that will be used in the third documentary about the effects of water pollution for fisherman and the community.
Delphine Denoiseux

Filmmakers, William and Jimena, set up to film the project of Maria et Adalid - the two lead characters in the fishing film.
Delphine Denoiseux

Jimena and William shoot the preparation of the Aymara New Year ceremony on June 21. This project highlights the family transmission of traditional knowledge.
Delphine Denoiseux

Crew members experience the arrival of the first rays of sun, June 21.
Delphine Denoiseux

Julien and crew members prepare to shoot in Carretilleros.
Delphine Denoiseux

Shooting scenes for "Dengue".
Delphine Denoiseux

Project members prepare a traditional Bolivian lunch during a pre-production trip to Hueco.
James Stairs

Filming in the small village of Hueco.
James Stairs

CEFREC lead-instructor Franklin Gutiérrez Zarate, left, helps out during post-production. Zarate explains that prior to the idigenous rights movement in the 80s, aboriginals "weren't seen as humans with emotions and the ability to contribute to the country". Through film, Zarate and his crews are helping positively transform this perspective.
James Stairs

Project members in the "editing suite" huddle around one of the four work stations in the single hotel room.
Delphine Denoiseux

Sandra and Denoiseux deep in discussion during an editng session.
James Stairs

Julien, Jimena and crew work hard finalizing the finishing details.
James Stairs

An evening of film watching in Ayoreo. The films have been shown across Bolivia on a burgeoning network of community media, and around the world via the film festival circuit.
Delphine Denoiseux

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