K’in Santo Ta Sotz’leb/Day of the Dead in the Land of the Bats (2004, 31 min.) MEXICO
Director: Pedro Daniel López (Tzotzil)
Produced by: Proyecto Videoastas Indígenas de la Frontera
Sur In Tzotzil and Spanish with English subtitles.
A young filmmaker reconnects with his grandfather when he travels to the elder’s village of Zinacantán, Chiapas. Here he documents the All Saints fiesta and Day of the Dead observances that are no longer practiced in the community where he grew up, which has adopted an evangelical form of Christianity. The elder takes advantage of the filming to convey his hopes for indigenous youth to carry on these traditions.
Image credit: Audience at Club Red Radio,
2000 Native American Film and Video Festival - photograph by Amalia Córdova,
NMAI
