More Related Content Similar to ‘You are not Alone in this Fight’ Thesis Final (20) 1. ‘You Are Not Alone in
This Fight’
Empowerment and Visibility
Seen Through the Cultural Lens
of Community Film in Peru
3. 3!
Table of Contents
ABSTRACT! 4!
INTRODUCTION! 5!
1. RESEARCH!QUESTIONS!AND!CASES!SELECTED 9!
RESEARCH!QUESTIONS! 9!
CASE!STUDIES! 10!
DOCUPERU!PROJECTS! 11!
ADDITIONAL!AUDIOVISUAL!ORGANIZATIONS!INCLUDED!IN!DATA!COLLECTION! 13!
2. LOCATION!AND!CONTEXT!IN!PERU 15!
GEOGRAPHY,!CULTURE,!AND!DEVELOPMENT!IN!PERU! 15!
THE!HISTORY!OF!COMMUNITY!FILM!IN!LATIN!AMERICA! 20!
THE!HISTORY!OF!COMMUNITY!FILM!IN!PERU! 21!
3. THEORETICAL!FRAMEWORK 24!
ONTOLOGIES!AND!THEORIES!IN!CULTURE,!ALTERNATIVE!MEDIA!AND!INTERNATIONAL!DEVELOPMENT! 24!
POSTRDEVELOPMENT!AND!AN!EPISTEMOLOGY!OF!SEEING! 30!
THE!DOCUMENTARY!GENRE! 31!
4. CULTURE!FOR!DEVELOPMENT!METHODOLOGY 33!
UNESCO!CULTURE!FOR!DEVELOPMENT!INDICATORS! 33!
OPERATIONALIZATION!OF!SELECTED!INDICATORS! 37!
ETHICS!AND!LIMITATIONS!OF!RESEARCH! 43!
5. DATA!SECTIONS 45!
DATA!SECTION!I:!DOCUPERU!INFRASTRUCTURE:!FINANCES,!ECONOMIC!EMPLOYMENT,!PROFESSIONAL!TRAINING,!AND!
SUSTAINABILITY! 45!
DATA!SECTION!II:!DOCUPERU!PARADIGM!AND!METHODOLOGY! 52!
DATA!SECTION!III:!DOCUPERU!PRODUCTION!PEDAGOGY! 59!
DATA!SECTION!IV:!THE!RESULTS!OF!LA!MOCHILA!DOCUMENTAL! 63!
EMPOWERMENT!AND!VISIBILITY!FOR!FILMMAKERS! 63!
EMPOWERMENT!AND!PROFESSIONAL!TRAINING!FOR!PRODUCERS! 67!
LA!MOCHILA!DOCUMENTAL!PRODUCTS! 68!
SUMMARY!OF!FINDINGS!AND!CONCLUSIONS! 79!
LOCAL:!DOCUPERU!AND!LA!MOCHILA!DOCUMENTAL! 79!
NATIONAL:!THE!MINISTRY!OF!CULTURE,!PERUVIAN!COMMUNITY!FILM,!AND!INTERCULTURAL!CITIZENSHIP! 80!
COMMUNITY!FILM!AND!INTERNATIONAL!DEVELOPMENT! 82!
REFLECTION!ON!METHODOLOGY!AND!SUGGESTIONS!FOR!FURTHER!RESEARCH! 83!
REFERENCES! 84!
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS! 91!
ANNEXES!I,!II,!III!&!IV! 92!
4. 4!
Abstract
The!research!builds!on!the!tradition!of!Latin!American!Community!Film!to!examine!how!
student!filmmakers!and!producers!come!together!in!efforts!to!democratize!documentary!
production!in!Peru.!It!builds!the!case!that!film!is!more!than!entertainment!and!culture,!
more!than!tradition.!When!those!elements!are!fused!in!horizontal!education,!they!produce!
content!and!processes!of!empowerment!and!visibility!that!can!be!captured!by!a!scientific!
application!of!UNESCO’s!Culture!for!Development!Indicators!(CDIS).!The!quantitative!CDIS!
Methodology!is!translated!in!this!research!to!a!local!scale!and!qualitative!inBdepth!
understanding.!In!a!mixed!method!research!design,!description!and!visibility!are!proposed!
to!capture!value!Culture!for!Development!misses!in!national!surveys!and!statistics.!
Boaventura!de!Sousa!Santos’s!Epistemology!of!Seeing!combined!with!the!CDIS!
multidimensional!methodology!creates!a!culturally!based!search!and!description!of!
alternative!development!and!antiBhegemonic!possibilities!emerging!from!Southern!
Epistemologies!and!social!mobilization.!This!multiBsite!and!multiBcase!research!included!
four!community!film!projects!in!diverse!Peruvian!geographies!including!the!organizations!
DocuPeru,!Educacion!Audiovisual,!Grupo!Chaski,!and!La!Combi!Arte!Rodante.!The!primary!
case,!DocuPeru’s!La!Mochila!Documental!workshop,!included!the!researcher!as!an!assessor!
(producer)!in!the!collaborative!production!of!an!animation!and!documentary!film.!In!the!
workshop,!values!in!the!dimensions!of!Education,!Social!Participation!and!Communication,!
and!Cultural!Heritage!characterized!the!human!empowerment!occurring!through!
producing!community!film.!The!products!of!the!workshop,!like!many!of!DocuPeru’s!
documentaries,!make!the!subjectivities!and!realities!of!absent,!marginalized,!or!isolated!
actors!visible!and!diffusible!through!sensitive,!aesthetically!engaging,!and!empathetic!
products.!!
5. 5!
Introduction
“Subversion!in!cinema!starts!when!the!theatre!darkens!and!the!screen!lights!up.!For!the!cinema!is!a!
place!of!magic!where!psychological!and!environmental!factors!combine!to!create!an!openness!to!
wonder!and!suggestion,!and!unlocking!of!the!unconscious.!It!is!a!shrine!at!which!modern!
rituals!rooted!in!atavistic!memories!and!subconscious!desires!are!!acted!out!in!darkness!and!
seclusion!from!the!outer!world.!!
The! power! of! the! image,! our! fear! of! it,! the! thrill! that! pulls! us! toward! it,! is! real.! Short! of!
closing!one's!eyes!BB!in!cinema,!a!difficult!and!unprecedented!act!BB!there!is!no!defense!against!it”!
(Vogel,!1974).!
“You!know!what!your!problem!is,!it's!that!you!haven't!seen!enough!movies!B!all!of!life's!riddles!are!
answered!in!the!movies”!Steve!Martin!(BrainyQuote,!2015).!
Imagine!one!illiterate!mother!watching!a!foreign!movie!on!a!large!screen!under!the!stars!
with!her!community!in!the!Peruvian!Andes,!leaning!over!to!capture!the!subtitles!read!to!
her!by!her!daughter.!During!my!research!I!encountered!Peruvians!who!walked!four!to!eight!
kilometers!to!see!their!first!movie.!One!man!I!met!in!La!Mochila!Documental!in!Accha!Cusco!
walked!16!kilometers!across!the!mountains!because!he!had!heard!by!word!of!mouth!that!
there! might! be! political! audiovisual! communication! workshops! in! the! next! district.! He!
became!the!producer!of!two!short!films!about!his!community!in!two!weeks.!Peruvians!who!
have!never!been!in!a!cinema!are!making!movies!about!their!city,!their!mountains,!rivers,!
their! mothers,! aunts,! or! even! themselves,! and! watching! them! with! pride,! laughter! and!
tears.!!
These! are! the! impressions! I! gained! both! first! and! second! hand! of! the! community! film!
experience!in!Peru.!They!are!stories!gathered!during!a!threeBmonth!field!research!in!Peru!
investigating!how!local!organizations!composed!of!audiovisual!artists!share!their!tools!to!
promote!voice!and!visibility.!In!short,!they!create!cultural!and!communication!vehicles!of!
empowerment!for!sectors!of!society!that!have!been!forgotten!or!marginalized!both!by!the!
state!and!the!processes!of!modern!development.!!
6. 6!
The! largest! and! most! complete! review! of! Latin! American! community! film! comes! from! a!
2014!qualitative!study,!“El!Cine!Comunitario!en!America!Latina!y!el!Caribe”.!It!summarizes!
community! film’s! common! denominator! as! a! community’s! will! to! reBinvoke! the! right! to!
communication:! “an! exercise! of! political! and! social! positioning,! in! societies! that! are!
frequently! made! invisible! and! marginalized.! Through! audiovisual! technology! those!
communities!affirm!their!right!to!express!themselves!to!society!as!a!whole!(Alvarez!et!al.,!
2014).!Community!film,!especially!documentaries,!offers!a!praxis!in!which!politics,!social!
and!environmental!issues,!technology,!culture!and!art!join!on!a!horizontal!level!to!create!an!
alternative!type!of!audiovisual!cultural!content!that!speaks!for!and!from!underBrepresented!
communities.! ! The! report! laments,! “Community! Film! has! been! studied! and! known! very!
little.!It!has!suffered!the!same!discrimination!and!marginalization!as!the!communities!that!
exercise!the!will!to!express:!‘Here!we!are,!this!is!who!we!are!and!this!is!what!we!want’”!
(Alvarez! et! al.! 2014:! 16).! Elizabeth! Coffmani,! discovers! the! same! knowledge! gap! within!
academia;! “[c]ommunity! media! has! received! surprisingly! little! scholarly! attention,! even!
within! the! field! of! media! studies! itself.! If! anything,! this! deficiency! reinforces!
the!assumptions!of!marginality!that!surround!community!media”!!(Coffman!2009: 66).!!
Viewed! within! the! multilaterally! constructed! paradigm! of! UNESCO’s! Culture! for!
Development,! the! research! searches! for! audiovisual! organizations! in! Peru! who! promote!
diverse! cultural! expressions! with! unique! political,! educational,! and! social! audiovisual!
compositions.! Much! talk! in! International! Development! is! dedicated! to! giving! “the! poor”!
voice,!expressed!by!transcribing!their!stories,!or!recording!interpretations!of!life!quality,!in!
a!report,!or!involving!them!in!a!variety!of!participatory!political!processes!(Sen,!2004)!In!
our!digital,!largely!audiovisual!communication!era,!why!not!transmit!alternative!knowledge!
and! perspectives! through! the! medium! that! is! the! most! easily! consumed! and! clearly!
communicated!for!everyone?!Using!the!art!of!film!education!as!a!participatory!tool!gives!
not!only!voice,!but!also!visibility!to!marginalized!social!groups!in!a!way!that!tells!personal!
stories! and! transmits! messages! for! social! justice,! not! just! literally! but! figuratively,!
metaphorically! or! symbolically! (Alvarez! et! al.,! 2014).! To! tell! the! complete! story,! a!
multidimensional!and!multiBscalar!approach!will!be!applied!to!understand!the!processes,!
institutions!and!people!involved!in!local!contexts!of!both!the!production!and!distribution!of!
7. 7!
this!type!of!alternative!media.!Previous!research!shows!that!initiatives!for!production!and!
experiences! of! diffusion! are! both! indispensable! for! the! task! of! community! film! and!
highlights! the! diversity! within! their! distinct! political,! social! and! cultural! Latin! American!
contextii.! The! organizations! examined! in! this! study,! while! sharing! similar! contexts! and!
many! common! objectives! and! practices,! are! diverse! in! their! approaches! to! where,! why,!
with!who!and!how!they!actualize!community!film.!Although!the!primary!case!focuses!on!
the! work! of! DocuPeru,! I! traveled! with,! worked! alongside,! and! spoke! to! three! other!
Peruivan!audiovisual!organizations.!This!provided!a!rich!contemporary!and!chronological!
context,!and!captured!aspects!of!the!phenomena!perhaps!invisible!when!engaging!with!just!
one!organization!carrying!out!one!project.!
Social!Cultural!Anthropology!student!Liesbeth!Hermens!!(2013)!has!written!one!M.S.S.C.!
thesis!on!DocuPeru,!which!thematically!investigates!the!democratization!of!media.!Building!
on!her!theoretical!conclusions!I!have!chosen!to!focus!on!the!processes!of!empowerment!
involved!in!DocuPeru’s!work.!Empowerment!is!one!of!the!most!important!links!connecting!
Culture!and!Development!(UNESCO,!2014)!and!is!at!the!heart!of!most!current!development!
strategies,!whether!cultural,!economic,!social,!or!political.!!Amryta!Sen,!a!heavily!influential!
international! development! theorist,! taught! that! empowerment! in! international!
development! should! be! driven! by! increasing! elemental! and! substantial! capabilities! of!
individuals! and! communities! (Sen,! 2004).! Building! communication! and! creative! cultural!
capacities!and!capabilities!needs!effective!tools,!and!the!instruction!of!how!to!use!them.!
Community!film!is!certainly!not!going!to!solve!the!riddles!of!International!Development.!
Organization!directors!confirm!that!the!funds!or!energy!devoted!to!the!basic!immediate!
needs! of! their! participants,! such! as! food,! shelter,! and! water! (Marlow’s! Theory),! must!
always!precede!any!audiovisual!intervention.!Notwithstanding,!I!will!examine!audiovisual!
communication!as!a!powerful!tool!which!when!shared!with!compassion!and!freedom!of!
expression!creates!a!basis!for!visibility!and!an!environment!of!empowerment.!!
8. 8!
Chapter(Outline(
The! first! chapter! will! present! the! research! questions,! and! a! description! of! the! focal!
organizations! and! their! work.! The! second! chapter! will! consider! a! macroBanalysis! of!
Peruvian! development! and! community! film! through! socioBhistoric! processes! leading! (or!
not)! to! social! justice! and! intercultural! citizenship.! The! third! chapter! presents! the!
conceptual! and! theoretical! framework,! which! articulates! the! specific! PostBDevelopment!
and!Culture!for!Development!ontologies,!theories!and!epistemologies!for!the!research!and!
a!short!explanation!of!the!documentary!genre.!The!fourth!chapter!will!introduce!UNESCO’s!
Culture!for!Development!Indicators,!and!how!this!national!quantitative!methodology!can!
be! understood! and! operationalized! qualitatively! and! subjectively! to! provide! description.!
The!fifth!chapter!divides!the!data!analysis!in!to!four!categories!based!on!understanding!
DocuPeru’s! infrastructure,! paradigm! and! methodology,! pedagogy,! and! the! results! of!
processes! and! products! from! La! Mochila! Documental! workshop.! The! final! summary! of!
findings!and!conclusions!will!provide!answers!as!to!the!various!ways!and!scales!alternative!
audiovisual!communication!can!be!a!vehicle!for!empowerment!and!visibility.!!
9. 9!
1. Research Questions and Cases Selected
Research Questions
To!bring!the!concepts!of!visibility,!empowerment,!and!education!into!community!film,!the!
primary!question!is:!!
• ‘How!do!Peruvian!community!film!organizations!generate!processes!of!empowerment
and! visibility! in! which! they! democratize! the! production! and! diffusion! of! diverse
audiovisual!cultural!content?’
This! initiates! a! line! of! questioning! that! begins! with! how! DocuPeru! (the! primary! case)!
functions!as!an!institution:!!
• “How! does! the! infrastructure! of! DocuPeru! facilitate! and! sustain! projects! and! what
internal!processes!of!empowerment!does!it!employ?”
Its!unique!contributions!is!better!understood!when!similar!Peruvian!organizations
are asked the same question. This includes the social problem they!identify!within!
Peruvian!society!and!their!mission!to!solve!it.!This!political!ideology!can!be!addressed!
with,!!
• ”How!do!film!organizations!in!Peru!understand,!communicate!and!overcome!obstacles
to!inclusive!development!through!democratizing!audiovisual!communication?”
Once! the! context! is! understood! the! focus! moves! to! the! participatory! and! inclusive!
discourse,!content!and!actions:!!
• ‘What! are! the! horizontal! processes! of! education,! the! methodology! and! pedagogy
practiced!by!these!film!organizations?
And!by!looking!at!the!workshops!and!movie!screenings!analysis!can!be!drawn!from!
firsthand!and!secondhand!experience!articulated!with!the!question:!!
• ‘What! are! the! results! of! creating! and! distributing! participatory! audiovisual! cultural
content!and!how!are!these!results!related!to!individual!and!community!empowerment?’
10. 10!
!The! results! will! be! analyzed! via! the! UNESCO! CDIS! Methodology! (2014)! that! produces!
multidimensional! values! for! Culture! for! Development.! Despite! the! documentary! focus,!
audiovisual! communication! is! only! the! primary! tool! from! these! organizations’! creative!
toolboxes.!We!should!investigate!visibility!and!empowerment!in!a!way!that!incorporates!
this!strategy!and!the!diverse!messages!it!can!communicate:!
• ”How!can!audiovisual!communication!be!utilized!as!a!flexible!tool!alongside!a!collection
of!other!art,!culture!and!communication!methods!in!order!to!make!a!plurality!of!social
issues!and!cultural!identities!more!visible?”
The! answer! to! these! questions! gives! clues! about! the! types! and! degrees! of!
empowerment! and! the! reclamation! of! visibility! or! selfBrepresentation! offered! by! these!
alternative!media!projects.!
Case Studies
The! cases! were! selected! based! on! their! active! involvement! in! community! film! and!
accessibility,!with!their!central!offices!located!in!Limaiii.!A!more!in!depth!analysis!of!the!
infrastructure,!paradigm,!methodology!and!pedagogy!of!DocuPeru!will!be!presented!with!
the!primary!fieldwork!data!in!Chapter!5.!!
DocuPeru:
The!primary!case!for!investigation!is!DocuPeru.!DocuPeru!is!an!informal!yet!dynamic!and!
prolific! audiovisual! organization! (Alvarez! et! al.,! 2014),! which! has! dedicated! itself! to!
producing!media!and!art,!especially!documentaries,!in!order!to!collect!and!distribute!video!
cultural!content!by!democratizing!channels!of!communication.!It!was!founded!in!2003!as!a!
documentary!festival!by!Director!Jose!Belado!and!Vice!President!Isabel!‘Lali”!Maldueño.!
It!is! selfBdescribed! as! “a! civil! nonBprofit! association,! dedicated! to! the!
diffusion,!documentation,! production! and! the! artistic,! technical! and! professional!
education! of!documentary!processes!and!products!in!the!Andes!region!countries;!with!
an!emphasis!on!topics! of! education! and! interculturality,! searching! for! a! contribution!
to! individual! and!collective!development”!(Docuperu.pe,!2012).!The!central!concern!of!
the!members!of!the!
11. 11!
organization!is!community!development!through!empowerment!and!social!inclusion,!while!
at! the! same! time! articulating! environmental,! social,! and! cultural! concerns! through!
documentary!film.!!
!DocuPeru Projects
DocuPeru’s!pilot!project!La!Muestra!Documental!(The!Documentary!Showing)!began!as!
an! open! festival! for! independent! national! and! international! documentaries.! DocuPeru!
began!with!Jose’s!friends!and!students!at!the!Catholic!University!of!Lima!creating!a!free!and!
nonBcompetitive! independent! documentary! film! festival! at! the! Lima! Spanish! Cultural!
Centreiv.!La!Muestra!still!continues!annually!and!since!2003!has!shown!619!documentaries:!
519! Peruvian! and! 100! foreign! (DocuPeru,! 2015).! After! a! few! years! of! documentary!
festivals,!DocuPeru!developed!La!Caravana!as!a!mobile!participatory!method!of!producing!
community!film!by!partnering!with!grassBroots!associations!in!diverse!socioBlocations:!“So!
we!started!to!create!a!network!in!Latin!America!and!to!know!other!festivals!and!to!know!
other!people.!So!we!said,!now!we!have!our!festival,!now!we!can!do!other!things!and!so!we!
started!the!Caravan!project!where!we!travel”!(Maldueño,!2015).!La!Caravana!Documental!
(The! Documentary! Caravan)! is! DocuPeru’s! hallmark! project! that! produces! the! diverse!
cultural!content!of!the!participatory!documentaries!by!traveling!to!communities.!
“Then!I!thought:!in!this!country!it’s!not!only!necessary!to!see!different!contents![…]!But!I!thought!it!
was! also! needed! that! the! people! would! make! these! contents! themselves.! That’s! how! the! second!
project!of!the!‘Caravana!Documental’,![…}!or!shortly!said!the!‘Caravana’,!arose.![…]!So!the!Caravana!
gets!birth!in!2005!from!the!‘prosumer’!logic.!We!are!producers!and!consumers!of!communication!
contents.![…]!The!Caravana!went!through!a!lot!evolutions.!When!we!went!on!the!first!Caravana,!it!
was! a! kind! of! pilot! project.! We! went! to! the! communities! of! Villa! El! Salvador,! Comas,! Trujillo,!
Cajamarca,!Chiclayo!and!Piura”!(Hermans!2013:!33).!
!The!Caravans!last!from!four!to!five!weeks,!each!week!spent!in!a!different!district,!town!or!
section!of!a!province.!Within!one!week,!DocuPeru!producers!and!local!filmmakers!produce!
as!many!as!four!documentaries!with!16B18!documentaries!for!each!Caravan.!There!have!
been!eight!Caravans!visiting!35!locations!serving!754!participants!and!producing!over!125!
documentariesv!(DocuPeru,!2015).!!
12. 12!
!El!Otro!Documental!(The Other Documentary)!is(a!third!project!that!emerged!in!2007:!
“an! educative! and! decentralized! project! called! ‘El! Otro! documental’! […]! was! born! as! a!
specialized! course! for! documentary.! It’s! until! now! the! only! product! of! DOCUPERU! that!
people! pay! for”! (Hermans,! 2013,! 43).! DocuPeru! describes! El! Otro! Documental! (EOD)! as!
workshops! “[…]! that! allow! for! a! theoretical! approach! and! practice! of! documentary!
realization! through! the! proposal! of! education! and! alternative! methodology,! dictated! to!
professionals!in!the!area!of!the!documentary!or!other!like!areas”!(Elotrodocumental.com,!
2015).(
Las!Incidencias!(The!Incidences)!are!political!works!that!are!more!personal!and!don’t!fit!
other!projects:!they’re!not!Caravanas!or!La!Muestra:!“We!do!this!work!in!the!Cajamarca!
protest!marches!against!the!Conga!mining!project,!for!example,!and!so!we!go!and!film!and!
record!there”!(Hermans,!2013:!43).!Since!Hermans!wrote!her!thesis,!two!Incidencias!have!
become! more! structured! to! improve! the! sustainability! of! contact! in! specific! locations,!
which!are!chosen!according!to!socioBpolitical!interest!and!the!close!relationship!with!local!
community! organizations.! These! include! the! two! current! projects.! Medios! Que!
Conmueven! (Mediums! that! Move! You)! began! in! 2013! as! the! Cajamarca! ‘Incidencia’! in!
2009!described!above!and!became!a!more!formalized!workshop!for!communication!and!
media!procurement!and!capacity!building.!DocuPeru’s!goal!has!been!to!have!a!project!in!
Huancabamba! Cajamaraca! that! works! specifically! with! women’s! associations! on! themes!
such! as! the! Civil! War,! government! forced! female! sterilizations,! mining,! and! indigenous!
knowledgevi.!The!other!project,!La!Mochila!Documental!(The!Backpack!Documentary),!is!
focused!on!decentralizing!education!and!the!teaching!of!new!technologies,!which!combines!
the! stationary! pedagogy! of! the! EOD! in! Lima! with! the! traveling! methodology! of! the!
Caravana,! for! leaders! and! community! organizations! (El! Otro! Documental! Accha! Cusco,!
2015).! It! is! the! primary! research! project! for! which! I! functioned! as! an! assessor! for! two!
collaborative!audiovisual!products.!The!projectgave in-depth!teaching!of!various!
communication!strategies!and!directed!out!to,!!
“rural!leaders,!men!and!women,!adults!and!adolescents.!They!work!with!grassBroots!organizations,!
about! Human! Rights,! or! the! environment,! culture;! they! are! community! and! rural! leaders,! the!
majority,! or,! the! people! around! the! town! who! work! in! community! themes! […]! To! enter! in! the!
13. 13!
workshop!the!profiles!should!be!of!those!involved!in!immediate!intervention,!documentaries!that!
are!more!political,!people!who!want!to!use!them!more!as!a!tool!for!development”!(Balado,!2015).!
The!primary!Mochila!Documentalvii!took!place!in!Accha,!Cusco,!with!the!same!partnerships!
as!a!visit!from!the 2014 Caravan!to!Apurimac!and!Cusco.!Below!is!a!geographic!distribution!
of!DocuPeru!projectsviii.!!
Additional Audiovisual Organizations Included in Data Collection
Often! seen! as! the! godfather! of! alternative! Peruvian! film! production! and! distribution,!
Director!Rene!Weber!calls!Grupo!Chaski!“A!cinematographic!collective”!(Weber,!2015).!It!
is!a!thirtyBfive!year!old!NGO!that!has!a!regional!network!of!32!small!community!cinemas,!
improvised! public! spaces! called! microcinesix!in! 9! different! provinces! of! Peru.! Their! fullB
length! independent! films,! such! as! Gregorio! and! Juliana,! are! among! the! most!
critically!acclaimed!and!wellBknown!Peruvian!films.!Educacion! Audiovisual(was!founded!
in!2013!by!former! DocuPeru! general! producer! Adriana! UgarteBStirlich.! I! attended!
four! days! of! a!weeklong! series! of! cultural! and! environmental! community! workshops!
she! directed! in!Cocachimba! Amazonas,! Peru.! La Combi Arte Rodante is! “A! mobile!
cultural! group! that!travels!through!the!towns!of!Peru!and!Latin!America!with!the!
objective!of!decentralizing!artistic! activities! and! recuperating! the! different! cultural!
expressions! that! exist! on! our!continent”! (lacombi,! 2015).! The! founding! directors!
began! microcine! work! in! 2007! and!
15. 15!
2. Location and Context in Peru
The! organizations! in! this! investigation! perform! workshops! and! film! screenings! on! a!
national! scale! and! visit! various! regions! to! promote! diverse! cultural! expressions.! The!
research!geography!reflects!this!diversity!by!following!Hermans’!description!of!multiBsite!
research! using! a! certain! network! of! various! fieldwork! sites! as! an! answer! to! a! more!
interconnected!world,!concentrating!on!the!flows!of!ideas!and!productsx.!A!multiBsite!case!
study!that!incorporates!geographic!and!cultural!diversity!requires!flexibility,!determination!
and! initiative.! The! first! leg! of! research! required! visiting! microcines! and! doing! primary!
interviews! in! Lima.! The! projects! all! clustered! in! August.! Starting! then,! I! traveled!
to!Cocachimba!in!Las!Amazonas!province,!and!sheltered!in!a!leaky!tent!to!participate!in!
La!Educacion!Audiovisual’s!La!Semena!Cultural.!Two!days!later!I!left!with!La!Combi!from!
Lima!for! the! northeastern! Ayucucho! (Southcentral! Peru)! community! La! Chuingi!
for! film!production!and!screenings,!and!cold!nights!sleeping!on!the!municipality!floor.!Two!
days!of!bus! rides! after! that,! I! was! in! Accha,! Cusco! attending! the! twoBweek! Mochila!
workshop,!which!for!the!production!of!the!documentary!Checcapucara!left!filmmakers!and!
producers!refuged!together!in!a!barn.!The!work!of!these!organizations,!the!geographic!
demands!of!the!research,! and! the! inclusion! of! abstract! concepts! such! as! Culture,!
Empowerment! and!Visibility! calls! for! a! more! macroBanalysis! contextualization.! This!
answers! the! second!research! subBquestion! by! matching! secondary! data! and!
literature! with! how! the!respondents!understand!obstacles!to!inclusive!development.!!
Geography, Culture, and Development in Peru
!“The!principle!factor!that!influences!the!cultural!diversity!of!Peru!is!its!geography”!!(Peru!
Ministerio! de! Cultura,! 2012,! 3).! Peru! is! South! America’s! third! largest! country! with! a!
population!of!about!29.5!million!(Peru!Ministerio!de!Cultura,!2011).!The!cultural!diversity!
within! this! territory! is! astounding.! It! has! the! world’s! majority! of! Quechua! speakers! at!
3,262,137!(Peru!Ministerio!de!Cultura,!2011)!and!in!the!Amazon!alone!there!are!60!dialects!
of! 11! indigenous! linguistic! families! (Peru! Ministerio! de! Cultura,! 2011).! There! are!
somewhere! around! 40! indigenous! groups! registered! with! the! government!
16. 16!
(Bdpi.cultura.gob.pe,! 2015),! and! eleven! listed! world! cultural! heritage! sites,! the! most!
popular,! Machu! Picchu! receiving! almost! 600,000! visitors! a! year! (Peru! Ministerio! de!
Cultura,!2011).!!
!Urban! Theorist! Neil! Brenner! (2004)! presents! the! principle! challenge! of! contemporary!
studies! of! global! socioBspatial! restructuring! as! analyzing! it! at! all! scales,! as! an! ongoing!
historical! process! in! which! the! geographies! of! social! relations! are! continually! molded,!
reconfigured! and! transformed.! Diverse! geographic! ecoBregions! have! brought! about!
Peruvian cultures!shaped!by!different!degrees!of!isolation!and!contact!for!thousands!of!
years!(Peru!Ministerio!de!Cultura,! 2011).!The!last!four!hundred!years!of!colonialism,!
nationalization!and! globalization! have! flattened! this! geographic! isolation! and! often!
separated! these!cultures!from!their!territorial!roots,!most!often!by!migration!flocking!
to!the!coast.!From!1940B2007! the! population! proportion! of! the! Lima! coast! out! of! the!
national! total! almost!doubled! from! 28.3%! in1940! to! 54.6%! in! 2007xi!(Peru! Ministerio!
de! Cultura,! 2011).! The!human!geography!of!Peru!is!one!of!a!demographically!hollowed!
interior!and!a!populated!coastal!rim!(Marshall,!n.d.).!This!is!not!only!a!sierra!to!coast!
relationship!but!reflects!overall!rural! to! urban! migration:! the! emptying! of! human!capital!
in! provincial! communities! to!provincial!urban!centersxii.!Development!and!transnational!
networks!expanding!the!urban!spheres! globally! (Ouweneel,! 2012)! are!focused! on! the!
growing! population! centers.! This!leaves! the! participatory! research! sites!in! this! thesis,!
areas! that! have! been! emptied! of!human,!investment,!and!often,!cultural!capital.!These!
smaller!pueblos (people's and towns)!are!some!of!the!least! ‘developed’!and!part!of!the!
DocuPeru!mission!is!to!document!how!they!adapt!to!a!lack!of!state! infrastructure! and!
services,!the! loss! of! cultural! customs,! and! the! harmful!consequences!external!
actors!have!brought.!!
!
These!demographic!shifts!reflect!larger!contemporary!trends!in!development!and!equality,!
most!importantly!for!this!research,!education!quality!and!cultural!institution!distribution.!
In! 2007! literacy! in! the! bottom! nine! regions,! some! of! the! furthest! from! Lima! (at! 98%!
literacy)!were!all!below!90%,!with!the!lowest!at!78%!(Peru!Ministerio!de!Cultura,!2011).!
This!inequality!is!even!more!concentrated!in!rural!areas!with!19.7%!illiteracy!compared!to!
3.7%! in! urban! areas! (Peru! Ministerio! de! Cultura,! 2011).! Particularly! telling! is! the!
17. 17!
percentage! of! people! with! education! above! secondary! level,! which! in! 2007! in! Lima! was!
67%,! compared! to! Cajamarca! at! 29%! (Peru! Ministerio! de! Cultura,! 2011).! Respondents!
describe!the!unequal!access!to!cultural!production!and!distributionxiii!as!a!national!obstacle!
to!inclusive!development.!It!is!most!evident!in!the!distribution!of!commercial!cinemas!with!
36! of! Peru’s! cinemas! in! Lima! and! 20! in! the! rest! of! the! country! and! 12! regions! without!
cinemas!(Peru!Ministerio!de!Cultura,!2011).!All!of!the!top!ten!grossing!films!shown!in!these!
cinemas! in! 2009,! for! example,! were! commercial! Hollywood! movies! (Peru! Ministerio! de!
Cultura,!2011).!Despite!the!population!density!of!Lima,!the!unequal!geographic!distribution!
of! higher! education! and! cultural! institutions! hint! at! an! underlying! inequality! in! creative!
cultural!capacity!throughout!Peru.!!
Peruvianism(and(Intercultural(Citizenship(
The! flattening! of! Peruvian! cultural! geography! has! challenged! traditionally! exclusive!
national! identity! assumptions! by! founding! identity! on! the! nation’s! cultural! diversity,!
expressed! through! intercultural! citizenship.! Peruvian! Anthropologist! Gabriel! Calderon!
described!contemporary!Peruvian!society!to!me!as,!
“A! new! space! now! to! reflect! about! what! is! Peruvianity,! it! gives! us! this! hegemonic!
discourse!that!is!exclusive.!You!are!indigenous,!you!are!Spanish,!or!you!are!the!ones!who!
believe! the! mestizo,! no,! in! this! moment! there’s! something! building! that! Peruvianity! is!
indigenous,!it’s!Spanish,!mestizo,!and!that!it’s!plural”!(Calderon,!2015).!
Peruvianism! describes! the! complexity! and! plurality! of! Peruvian! culture,! identity,! and!
citizenship! stated! by! the! Peruvian! historian! Jose! Antonio! de! Busto! Duthurburu! as!
“Indigenism! and! Hispanic”! being! overcome! by! “Peruvianism”! in! a! Peru! that! is!
“independent,! one! nation,! pluricultural,! multilingual! and! mestizo,”! and! Peruvians! are! no!
longer! the! “vassals! of! Atahualpa! nor! the! subjects! of! Carlos! V” (Aeg.pucp.edu.pe,! 2015).!
Peruvianism!is!the!process!of!recognizing!an!inclusive!cultural!identity!and!citizenship.!The!
progression! towards! “the! common! denominator! of! Peruvianity”,! for! Dr.! Calderon! begins!
with! social! mobilization! at! the! end! of! 19th! Century! with! the! Pacific! War! (1878B1883)!
between!Chile,!Peru!and!Boliviaxiv.!“Since!then,!since!the!end!of!the!Pacific!War!until!now!
it’s! a! whole! line! of! arriving! towards! citizenship! that! presents! a! lot! of! ideas,! lots! of!
challenges!and!endless!elements!but!also!new!perspectives.!In!this!feeling,!the!Peruvian!
18. 18!
Culture!of!today!is!diverse,!it’s!more!conscious!of!its!plurality,!complexity!or!universality”
(Calderon,!2015).!!
Respondents! described! discrimination! and! apathy! as! significant! human! obstacles! to!
culture,! communication! and! development.! Dr.! Calderon! explained! how! Peruvianism! and!
intercultural!citizenship!is!jeopardized!by!ethnic!discrimination,!even!selfBdiscrimination,!
based! upon! geographic! and! cultural! difference! and! inequality! in! the! dominant! socioB
economic! structuresxv.! DocuPeru! member! and! EA! director,! Adriana! Ugarte,! described!
Peruvian!society!affected!by!a!general!“lack!of!knowledge!and!lack!of!wanting!to!know!the!
other! ways! of! life! inside! of! this! country”! (UgarteBStiglich,! 2015).! The! centralization! of!
Lima1,!the!general!apathy!and!ignorance!to!a!plurality!of!cultural!identities!creates!social!
distance! and! discrimination! instead! of! intercultural! understandingxvi.! Dr.! Susana! Pastor,!
linked! this! apathy! in! Peru! to! disinterest! in! ‘knowing’! others! and! lacking! a! concept! of!
citizenshipxvii.! Intercultural! citizenship,! as! described! in! an! interview! with! the! Peruvian!
Ministry!of!Culture,!is!based!on!consciousness!of!being!part!of!a!diverse!country,!and!that!
this!diversity!has!“a!value,!it’s!a!capital!and!it’s!not!an!obstacle!as!it’s!been!traditionally!
understood!from!the!point!of!the!creole!and!Limen”!(Cacera!Vegas,!Official!A!and!Official!B,!
2015).!It!is!created!by!“knowing!how!to!respect!and!also!that!we!can!be!enriched!by!this,!
that!we!learn!and!get!to!know.!It’s!not!just!to!tolerate!but!also!to!understand.!To!give!and!
take,! in! the! end,! it’s! an! interaction” (Cacera! Vegas,! Official! A! and! Official! B,! 2015).! The!
research! follows! organizations! that! use! alternative! media! in! order! to! shorten! social!
distances,!caused!by!apathy,!discrimination!or!ignorance,!by!audiovisual!interactions!that!
build!an!intercultural!citizenship!based!on!“Peruvianity”!or!“Peruvianism”.!!
Developing(Peru:(Neo?Liberalism(and(Resource(Extraction(
The! overall! Human! Development! Index,! a! measurement! incorporating! life! expectancy,!
education! attainment! and! income! rate! Peru! at! .737! out! of! 1.! Much! of! the! literature! and!
respondents! link! the! increase! in! the! 1990s! until! 2010! (7.37)xviii!to! the! introduction! of!
“sound”! neoBliberal! marketBoriented! economic! and! trade! policies! by! president! Alberto!
1!“This!is!Lima,!this!is!nothing!new,!Lima!is!centralized.”!(Ugarte!Stiglich,!2015)!
19. 19!
Fujimori!and!brought!to!a!crescendo!throughout!the!terms!of!Alan!Garcia!and!Alejandro!
Toledo!(Grissom!2012;!CIA!2012)!and!continued!to!date!by!Ollanta!Humala!Tasso!(cia.gov,!
2015).!The!HDI!indicator!has!risen!alongside!the!increase!in!GDP!growth!of!the!countryxix.!
It! is!economic!development! that! has!largely!been!based!on!high!international!prices!for!
Peru’s!largest!export!commodities,!construction!and!private!investments!in!mining!and!oil!
and!gas!projects!(CIA,!2012).!!
What! does! this! economic! development! mean! for! Peru! socially?! The! HDI! coefficient!
describes!the!potential!human!development!that!can!occur,!but!the!InequalityBadjusted!HDI!
gives!.562;!lower!than!the!potential!.595!HDI!in!1980!(Hdr.undp.org,!2015).!Even!with!a!
growing!economy,!25.8%!of!the!Peruvian!population!lived!below!the!poverty!line!in!2012!
(Hdr.undp.org,! 2015).! Despite! economic! growth! and! relative! political! stability,! equal!
distribution!of!human!development!in!Peru!is!not!even!reaching!it’s!potential!in!1980.!This!
harmful!mirage!of!economic!development!is!described!in!an!interview!with!the!director!of!
Cedep!Ayllu,!the!host!for!DocuPeru’s!Mochila!Documental!and!the!most!active!community!
NGO!in!Accha,!Cusco:!
“The!comuneros!here!in!the!rural!and!far!away!areas,!this!famous!economic!growth!doesn’t!arrive!
there.!This!stays!within!the!accounts!of!the!country.!The!growth!is!seen!as!good!in!the!eyes!of!the!
other!countries,!so!they!look!at!financing!projects!and!they!think!that!Peru!already!doesn’t!need!
that.”!(Arnaez,!2015)!
The! contentment! with! objective! economic! prosperity! can! in! fact! hurt! important! local
development initiatives in socio-economic contexts that are invisible in the reports lauding
the quantity of economic growth. More urgently, many of the social consequences of the
economic development quality will come from its principle means: export commodities
based on resource extraction. If you look at the maps below you will see different degrees of
concessions to petroleum extraction are concentrated (green, red, yellow and dark blue) on
the Northern coast and the eastern mountains and jungle. In the right image, the mining
concessions run along the entire cordillera of the Andes and much of the coast claiming
20.3% of the territory. With both of the images displayed together you see a very explicit
economic development scheme for the country.!
20. 20!
The! same! regions! that! are! lacking! the! capacity! for! communicating! their! realities! and!
promoting! their! culture! through! creative! industries! are! the! very! territories! that!
are!targeted! for! the! consequences! that! resource! extraction! based! development!
interventions!are! bringing.! Five! of! the! seven! products! in! La! Mochila! Documental!
workshop! focused! on!the! social! mobilization! needed! to! reclaim! the! natural!
resources! and! culture! within!territories!hosting!mining!interventions.!It!is!emblematic!of!
the!context!in!which!DocuPeru!politically! and! purposively! searches! for! the! voice! and!
images! of! communities! who! are!silenced,!marginalized,!or!invisible.!!!
The HistoryofCommunityFilm inLatinAmerica
A(Political(Context(
Community! film! in! Latin! America,! which! involves! the! appropriation! of! processes! of!
production!and!diffusion!by!communities,!was!born!out!of!the!regional!cinematography!of!
the!1960s!and!1970s;!it!is!characterized!by!social!preoccupations!and!the!alternative!video!
boom!of!the!1980s!(Alvarez!et!al.,!2014).!One!of!the!commonalities!of!community!film!in!
Latin! America! is! the! eruption! of! the! military! dictatorships! in! almost! all! of! the!
countries,!which!has!translated!into!censorship,!persecution!and!death.!Thus,!at!the!very!
beginning!of!the!Latin!American!Community!Film!tradition!filmmakers!operated!
clandestinely,!and!were!exiled!or!assassinated;!“the!new!film!that!hadn’t!even!arrived!at!its!
adulthood,!suffered!the!
21. 21!
consequences! of! an! absence! of! freedom”! (Alvarez! et! al.,! 2014:! 25).! This! only! served! to!
politicize!filmmakers!in!the!field!of!education!and!popular!communication!with!actions!of!
production,!diffusion!and!capacitationxxi.!
A(Technological(Context(
The!eruption!of!video!and!explosion!of!new!technologies!at!cheaper!costs!and!simplified!
management! apparatuses! offered! technology! as! “a! trampoline! that! allowed! for! a! film! of!
individuals!to!jump!to!a!film!of!communities”!(Alvarez!et!al.,!2014:!29).!Stefan!Kasper,!one!
Chaski!founder,!highlights!technological!innovations!as!the!primary!enabler!of!community!
film:!
“Now,!with!more!accessible!and!manageable!new!technologies,!accompanied!with!new!political!will!
and!settings!of!networks!and!circuits!of!information!and!communication![…]!the!democratization!
and! transformation! of! film! and! audiovisual! communication! begins.! The! search! for! methods,!
concepts,! and! models! that! will! permit! the! development! of! an! audiovisual! culture! owned! by! the!
community!begins”!(Alvarez!et!al.,!2014:!467B477).!!
Many! of! Latin! America’s! community! film! innovations! originate! in! Brazil! with! initiatives!
such!as!TV!Viva!or!TV!Maxambombaxxii.!Director!Jose!Balado!learned!the!participatory!arts!
by! working! TV! Viva! in! Pernambuco! for! his! thesisxxiii.! Fieldwork! revealed! that! Brazilian!
Cultural!Points!and!Videoteca!programs!were!inspirations!for!the!same!programs!in!Peru.!
The History of Community Film in Peru
The(Antecedents(
As!far!back!as!1917,!the!Lima!journal!El(Dia(del(Peru!describes!Lima!as!a!cinematographic!
city;!in!the!early!20th!Century,!every!neighborhood!contained!a!location!for!projection!and!a!
public!accustomed!to!watching!filmxxiv!(Alvarez!et!al.,!2014).!Peruvian!Community!film!and!
video! is! an! important! reference! for! social! film,! and! the! communitarian! theme,! which!
exemplifies! the! characteristics! of! appropriating! technology! with! the! goal! of! revealing!
images! of! hidden! people,! their! daily! life,! their! ways! of! seeing! the! world! and! of! selfB
expression,!of!reinvigorating!fights!and!their!forms!of!collective!living!(Alvarez!et!al.,!2014,!
445).!!Community!film!in!Peru!includes!using!the!native!language,!and!the!participation!of!
actors! from! different! Andean! communities! and! the! diffusion! of! their! beliefs! and! values!
22. 22!
(Alvarez!et!al.,!2014).!The!most!famous!Peruvian!precursor!to!community!film!is!the!movie!
Kukuli((1961),! a! work! of! collective! direction,! that! utilizes! both! documentary! and! fiction!
languages.!Furthermore,!it!demonstrates!the!social!and!geographic!conditions!of!a!reality!
that!had!been!previously!ignored!in!Peru!(Alvarez!et!al.,!2014).!Based!on!a!popular!legend,!
it! was! the! first! movie! made! in! Quechua.! Los( Perros( Hambrientos( (1976),! by! Luis!
Figueroa,! narrates! confrontations! between! campesinos xxv !and! landowners! and!
highlights!the!relation!between!human!beings!and!nature.!Additionally!in!that!film,!
“there!doesn’t!exist!an!individual!protagonist,!the!central!character!is!a!collective:!an!
indigenous!community” (Alvarez!et!al.!2014:!446).!!
Political(Culture(and(Will(in(Governance(of(Community(Film(
The! political! governance,! the! culture! or! will! in! the! realm! of! Peruvian! cinematography!
relates!directly!to!its!promulgation.!One!of!the!greatest!boons!for!independent!Peruvian!
film!was!the!1972!law!(19!327),!passed!by!the!government!of!General!Juan!Velasco!that!
mandated!the!obligatory!exhibition!of!national!movies!and!taxes!on!box!office!sales.!The!
income!of!those!taxes!was!distributed!to!the!Peruvian!producers!of!long!and!short!films.!It!
also! mandated! that! before! every! imported! movie! a! short! national! film! of! ten! to! twelve!
minutes!be!shown!(Alvarez!et!al.,!2014).!Access!to!cinema!theaters!was!more!equitable!by!
limiting!the!entrance!to!fifty!cents.!Stefan!Kaspar,!explains!this!legal!structure!as!making!
the! diffusion! of! their! first! fullBlength! productions,! Gregorio! and! Juliana! possible! with! a!
million!spectators!for!Gregorio,!and!600,000!spectators!for!Julianaxxvi.!!
The!neoBliberal!economic!policies!of!Fujimori!described!in!the!previous!section!were!also!
applied! to! Peruvian! cinematography! with! the! disappearance! of! the! (19! 327)! law.! This!
resulted!in!the!closure!of!neighborhood!cinemas,!concentrated!multiplex!cinemas!primarily!
in!the!capital!of!the!country,!and!led!to!the!increase!of!ticket!costs!making!cinematography!
inaccessible! to! the! majority! of! the! population! (Alvarez! et! al.,! 2014).! ! Stefan! Kasper!
describes!the!effect!this!had!on!Peruvian!film:!!
“In!the!1990s,!due!to!the!governing!political!economics,!of!the!380!film!rooms!more!or!less!
distributed!throughout!the!country,!there!only!stayed!39!multiplex!cinemas,!of!those!32!were!in!
23. 23!
Lima,!giving!the!result!that!9!out!of!10!Peruvians!lost!access!to!cinematographic!exhibition.!The!
percentage!of!ticket!sales!for!viewing!North!America!cinema!rose!to!95%,!reducing!the!percentage!
of! the! other! cinematographies:! 3%! for! Peruvian! film,! 1%! for! Latin! American! film! and! 1%! for!
European!cinema!and!the!rest!of!the!world.!It!was!this!way!that!the!role!of!film!in!the!country!was!
reduced! to! centralism,! exclusion,! discrimination,! exit! of! view! points,! monopoly,! control! and!
distortion!of!the!market!and!cultural!domination;!all!of!the!characteristics!that!contribute!nothing!
to!the!real!communication!and!cultural!needs!of!the!people”!(Alvarez!et!al.,!2014:!457).!
Despite! the! 2004! (28! 278)! Law! of! Radio! and! Television! that! sought! to! strengthen! the!
identity!and!customs!of!communities,!and!the!Film!Law!26!370,!which!was!supposed!to!
support! national! filmmakers,! previous! research! shows! that! in! Peru! the! State! was! not!
involved! in! the! development! of! community! film.! Additionally,! involvement! was,! still!
sometimes! is,! often! met! with! distrust! that! government! bodies! will! control! the! political!
content!of!the!films!produced!(Alvarez!et!al.,!2014:!470).!
24. 24!
3. Theoretical Framework
Ontologies and Theories in Culture, Alternative Media and International
Development
Culture(
John! Hawkes! expands! a! functional! definition! of! culture xxvii !with! intangible! aspects!
including:! ! “The! social! production! and! transmission! of! identities,! meanings,! knowledge,!
beliefs,! values,! aspirations,! memories,! purposes,! attitudes! and! understanding”! (Cultural!
Development! Network,! 2001:! 3).! UNESCO! also! identifies! cultural! activities! as! passed!
creatively!and!intellectually!through!generations.!Culture!is!understood!anthropologically!
as!guiding!“individual!and!collective!action![…]!a!stock!of!intangible!renewable!resources!
upon! which! people! draw! inspiration! and! through! which! they! express! the! meaning! they!
give!to!their!existence!and!its!development”!(UNESCO!2014:!10).!!The!more!dynamic!idea!of!
a!living!culture!continually!“meets!the!changing!face!of!contemporary!reality.!Cultural!or!
artistic!expression!is!the!outward!reflection!of!that!community's!evolution!in!the!face!of!
changing! social! and! physical! realities”! (Mavrocordatos,! 2015).! It! is! by! documenting! this!
living! culture! in! an! artistic! way! that! it! is! captured! in! cultural! content,! defined! as! “The!
symbolic! meaning,! artistic! dimension! and! cultural! values! that! originate! from! or! express!
cultural! identities”! (UNESCO,! 2003).! The! methodology! of! DocuPeru! documents! the! daily!
lives!of!the!pueblosxxviii(and!presents!them!as!cultural!heritage:!material!and!nonBmaterial!
cultural! resources! or! artifacts! of! cultural! memory! and! rememberingxxix.! The! goal! is!
showing! cultural! diversity:! “the! manifold! ways! in! which! the! cultures! of! groups! and!
societies!find!expression.!The!cultural!heritage!of!humanity!is!expressed,!augmented!and!
transmitted! through! diverse! modes! of! artistic! creation,! production,! dissemination,!
distribution! and! enjoyment”! (UNESCO,! 2003:! Article! I).! Cultural! diversity! interacting! is!
interculturality:! “the! existence! and! equitable! interaction! of! diverse! cultures! and! the!
possibility!of!generating!shared!cultural!expressions!through!dialogue!and!mutual!respect”!
(UNESCO,!2003).(
25. 25!
Cultural(Theory,(the(Social(Contact(Hypothesis(and(Empathy(
Mary! Douglas! (2004)! looks! at! culture,! not! as! ethnicities,! but! as! lifestyles! and! cultural!
groups!that!exist!in!every!society.!She!outlines!four!different!cultural!groups!within!society:!
hierarchal,!entrepreneurial,!dissident,!and!isolated.!The!first!two!represent!command!
and!control!over!society.!Hierarchy!assumes!the!authority!of!stewardship!defining!limits!to!
its! responsibilities,! and! is! inclined! to! an! adversarial! attitude! to! other! cultural! types!
(Douglas,!2004).!It!is!concerned!with!conserving!tradition,!falls!prey!to!corruption,!and!is!
throttled! by! bureaucracy! (Verweij,! 2004:! 110).! The! entrepreneurial! or! individualist!
tendency!is!based!on!merit!and,!!“stands!in!direct!confrontation!with!stewardship!because!
it! explicitly! sanctions! individual! competition”! (Douglas,! 2004:! 92).! The! dissident! culture!
refers!to!the!several!varieties!of!permanent!opposition!to!the!two!cultural!groups!in!power:!
“Strongly!motivated!sets!of!people!hive!off!from!the!mainstream!and!form!minority!groups![…]!its!
cosmology! of! “saints! and! sinners”! is! painted! in! black! and! white.! It! tends! to! be! egalitarian! in!
principle! and! in! practice.! To! the! other! cultures,! the! sectarian! tendency! presents! an! opposed!
identity,!it!stirs!the!community!conscience”!(Douglas,!2004:!93).!
The!dissidents!often!work!in!opposition!to!the!hierarchy!and!entrepreneurs!by!activating!
the!isolates,!or!“[Those]!who!have!dropped!out!of!the!exchanges!by!which!individuals!are!
incorporated”! (Douglas,! 2004:! 93).! These! ‘dropouts’! are! marked! by! a! general! apathy!
caused! by! disillusionmentxxx.! In! analyzing! Douglas’s! cultural! theory! Verweij! (2004,! 111)!
states,!“[…]!the!prevention!of!massive!fatalism!requires!all!four!cultures!to!be!interacting.”!
Throughout!the!research!audiovisual!organizations!(the!dissidents)!interact!with!the!other!
three! cultural! groups! in! order! to! develop! an! inclusive! communication! strategy,! which!
harmonizes!these!often!opposing!cultural!forces.!!
Many!of!the!respondent!descriptions!of!the!workshops!results!and!documentaries!fall!in!
line! with! the! principles! of! the! contact! hypothesis,! which! states! that! contact! between!
members!of!conflict,!or!“the!unknown!other”!groups!enhances!positive!relationships!and!
tackles!discrimination.!It!has!been!called!‘nearness!by!resemblance’xxxi!in!that!individuals!
traditionally!at!odds!with!each!other!find!common!ground!and!eventually!know!each!other!
intimately.!In!this!hypothesis!“superordinate!goals”!force!groups!to!work!collectively.!In!
26. 26!
short,! contact! is! thought! to! develop! empathy.! Empathy! is! a! strong! emergent! element!
captured! by! this! qualitative! research,! but! largely! absent! from! UNESCO! literature.! In! his!
recently!published!book,!the!Empathetic!Civilization,!Jeremy!Rifkin!(2015)!describes!how!
humanity!has!moved!though!an!Age!of!Faith,!to!an!Age!of!Reason,!and!today’s!generation!
must! embrace! their! inner! “Homo! Empathicus”! as! the! principle! means! to! both! creating!
social!life!and!advancing!civilization.!!
Alternative(Media(
Alternative! media! is! an! umbrella! term! for! audiovisual! production! and! distribution! that!
makes!an!effort!at!decentralization!and!democratization!of!communication.!Beltrán!defines!
it!as:(
“The!alternative!communication!for!the!democratic!development!is!the!expansion!and!the!balance!
in!the!access!of!the!people!to!the!communication!process!and!in!the!participation!therein,!using!the!
media! –massive,! interpersonal! and! mixedB! to! secure,! apart! from! the! technological! advance! and!
material! wellbeing,! social! justice,! the! freedom! for! everyone! and! a! representative! government”*
(Beltrán,*2006:!286).!!
Another! definition! by! Claudio! Aguirre! Bianchi,! speaks! to! intercultural! citizenship! as! the!
participation!of!often!absent!actors!and!voices:!“Alternatives!are!the!media!or!systems!of!
communication! that! incorporate! new! actors,! new! voices,! to! the! collective! dialogue! that!
occurs!in!society.!The!polylogue!expands!and!society!tends!to!get!more!complex,!plural!and!
democratic”+(Beltrán,+2006:!286).!
Popular! communication! is! born! out! of! social! movements! and! opposes! the! hegemonic!
discourse! “constructed! and! maintained! as! to! stop! critical! thinking! and! successive!
organization,! action! and! opposition”! (Hermans,! 2013:! 21).! Indigenous! media! refers! to!
minorities!producing!media!content!that!is!selfBrepresentative!(Schiwy,!2009).!DocuPeru!
and! others! work! in! areas! with! indigenous! elements,! or! are! primarily! indigenous!
communities.!However,!due!to!the!multicultural!and!cultural!hybridized!character!of!much!
of!Peru!(Escobar,!1994),!content!and!producers!are!‘indigenous’,!not!in!any!legal!sense,!but!
27. 27!
of!their!communities.!The!horizontal!participatory!element!of!alternative!media!production!
is!described!by!Beltran!as!interlocutors!having!the!same!rights!and!possibility!to!express!
themselves! freely! to! construct! a! common! discourse! for! developing! problem! solving!
capacities!and!collective!power!that!seeks!to!transform!unfair!social!structuresxxxii.!UNESCO!
describes!the!importance!of!participatory!communication!for!development!as!emphasizing!
community! participation! and! indigenous! knowledge! combined! with! communication!
technologies! working! for! “the! empowerment! of! citizens,! challenging! them! to!
collaboratively! and! democratically! generate,! exchange! and! utilise! relevant! knowledge!
towards!improving!their!communities,!livelihoods!and!the!environment.![…]![It!represents]!
strategies!for!empowering!communities!to!formulate!realistic!and!meaningful!development!
policies”(UNESCO,!2007).!
The(Culture(of(Development(
ExBPresident!of!the!World!Bank,!James!Wolfensohn!described!the!Culture!of!Development!
ignoring!the!Culture!for!Development:!“The!Culture!(of!the!poor)!can!be!one!of!the!most!
important! resources,! but! also! is! the! most! ignored! and! devastated! by! development!
programs”2.!Not!accounting!for!culture!in!development!paradigms!and!practices!represents!
a!missed!opportunity!for!real!international!growth!and!may!lead!to!failures!in!development!
interventions!(United!Nations!Program!for!Development,!2005).!Anthropologists!recognize!
that!development!is!a!discourse!and!a!‘narrative!of!progress’!(Ferguson,!1994)!formed!by!
the! occidental! culture! of! scientific! knowledge! construction! and! cosmopolitan! values.!
‘Standards!of!living’!and!‘quality!of!life’!in!this!paradigm!speak!of!not!only!a!historical!but!
also!a!moral!imperative!(Ferguson,!1994).!This!morality!is!culturally!formed!by!the!points!
of! view! and! aspirations! of! a! group! of! people! who! through! an! ethos! and! logos! of! care,!
compassion,!and!optimism!believe!that!whatever!forces!degrade!global!quality!of!life!may!
be!counteracted!or!transformed.!The!Culture!of!Development!is!certainly!noble,!however,!
cultural!assumptions,!power!relations,!or!political!motives!that!underpin!it!undermine!its!
effectiveness.!Gustavo!Esteva!(2010)!describes!the!initial!conceptualization!of!development!
as!a!comparative!adjective!that!belittles!the!world’s!incredible!cultural!diversity.!Creating!
2!From!his!speech!at!the!Florence,!Italy!conference!in!October!1999!
28. 28!
the!concept!of!the!‘underdeveloped’,!the!poor!
"Ceased! being! what! they! were,! in! all! their! diversity! and! were! transmogrified! into! an! inverted!
mirror!of!others’!reality:!a!mirror!that!belittles!them!and!sends!them!off!to!the!end!of!the!queue,!a!
mirror! that! defined! their! identity,! which! is! really! that! of! a! heterogeneous! and! diverse! majority,!
simply!in!the!terms!of!a!homogenizing!and!narrow!minority”!(Esteva,!2010:!2).!
The! professed! universalism! of! development! practices! assumes! that! the! poor! are! one!
culture! who,! with! the! right! technologies! or! vehicles! for! modernization,! will! lose! their!
divergent! tendencies! (Escobar,! 1994).! Culture! for! Development! and! community! film! are!
means!to!reverse!this!process!and!work!to!highlight!the!plurality!and!opportunities!cultural!
diversity!brings!to!international!development.!!
(Culture(for(Development(
Amaryta!Sen!(2004)!describes!“culture!as!a!constitutive!part!of!development”.!John!Hawkes!
(2001:!2)!recognizes!cultural!vitality!as!the!fourth!pillar!of!sustainable!development3;!“new!
governance! paradigms! and! views! of! what! constitutes! a! healthy! and! sustainable! society!
would! be! more! effective! if! cultural! vitality! were! to! be! included! as! one! of! the! basic!
requirements,! main! conceptual! tenets! and! overriding! evaluation! streams.”! A! Culture! for!
Development! approach! understands! that! “Culture! is! not! the! decoration! added! after! a!
society!has!dealt!with!its!basic!needs.!Culture!is(the!basic!need!–!it!is!the!bedrock!of!society”!
(Cultural! Development! Network,! 200:! 3).! It! means! counterbalancing! the! culture! of!
development,! which! in! its! overenthusiasm! may! be! ignoring! local! realities! and! artists! in!
development!contexts.!The!UNESCO!2005!Convention!on!the!Protection!and!Promotion!of!
Diversity! of! Cultural! Expressions! is! a! move! to! institutionalize! the! power! of! culture! in!
international!development.!The!mission!is!to!integrate!culture!on!all!development!policy!
levels!in!order!to!“create!a!more!favourable!environment!for!development!and!foster!the!
diversity! of! cultural! expressions.”! More! than! 125! countriesxxxiii,! including! Peru,! have!
ratified!the!Convention!and!are!working!to!implement!its!resolutions!(Balta,!2014).!In!this!
case! UNESCO! defines! development! as! “the! process! of! enlarging! people’s! choices! [that...]!
3!The!other!three!pillars!are!Social!Equity,!Environmental!Responsibility!and!Economic!Viability!
29. 29!
enhances! the! effective! freedom! of! the! people! involved! to! pursue! whatever! they! have!
reason!to!value”!(UNESCO!2014:!10).!!
Empowerment, the Capacity to Aspire and Visibility
!Achieving!UNESCO’s!‘effective!freedom’!means!local!empowermentxxxiv.!Empowerment!for!
this! research! pertains,! not! to! permitting! or! authorizing! someone’s! actions,! but! to! more!
internal! ‘bottom! up’! process! of! increasing! the! capacity! to! aspire! (Appadurai,! 2004)! by!
acquiring! new! capabilities.! It! means! sharing! tools! so! that! representation,! voice! and!
visibility!capacities!are!increased.!Kabeer!citing!Bartlett!describes!how!this!agency!“refers!
to!the!expansion!in!people’s!ability!to!make!strategic!life!choices!in!a!context!where!this!
ability!was!previously!denied!to!them”!(Ibrahim!and!Alkire:!2007)4.!Khwaja!relates!it!to!
communication! as! “two! components:! information! and! influence,! which! together! allow!
individuals! to! identify! and! express! their! own! preferences,! and! provides! them! with! the!
bargaining! power! to! make! informed! decisions”! (NarayanBParker,! D.! (e.d.)! and! Kwaja,! A.,!
2005:! 273–274).! !It! is! characterized! by! approaches! based! on! social! mobilization! and!
“helping! the! poor! and! socially! excluded! individuals! realize! the! power! they! gain! from!
collective!action”!(Bennet,!2002). !
!International! development! theories! have! sought! to! bring! empowerment! into! their!
schemes!by!participation!incorporating!the!“voice”!of!those!being!developed:!
“As! part! of! the! background! work! for! the! 2001! World! Development! report,! the! World! Bank!
supervised!a!broad!compilation!of!participatory!research!in!the!“Voices!of!the!Poor,”!attempting!to!
signal!a!cultural!shift!in!the!World!Bank’s!practice!toward!seeking!to!listen!rather!than!to!tell”!(V.!
Rao!and!M.!Walton!2004:!19).!!
Appadurai!(2004:!67)!describes!the!importance!of!empowerment!through!supporting!voice!
as!a!key!capability!for!‘aspiring’:!
“The!poor!seek!to!strengthen!their!voices!as!a!cultural!capacity,!they!will!need!to!find!those!levers!
of!metaphor,!rhetoric,!organization,!and!public!performance!that!will!work!best!in!their!cultural!
worlds.!And!when!they!do!work,!as!we!have!seen!with!various!movements!in!the!past,!they!change!
the!terms!of!recognition,!indeed!the!cultural!framework!itself.”!
4!!Cited!from!(Bartlett,!2004:!57)!
30. 30!
He! is! one! of! the! few! who! connects! political! empowerment! and! visibility,! lamenting! the!
invisibility!of!the!poor:!“This!is!a!particular!politics!of!visibility!which!inverts!the!harm!of!
the!default!condition!of!civic!invisibility!which!characterizes!the!urban!poor”!(Appadurai!
2004:! 78).! Combining! visibility! and! empowerment,! however,! can! encompass! more! than!
civic!politics,!and!its!full!realization!requires!a!theoretical!and!practical!amplifying!of!‘voice’!
to!become!sound,!action,!and!imagery.!!
Post-Development and an Epistemology of Seeing
PostBdevelopment! theory! accounts! for! culture,! but! more! importantly! builds! more!
revolutionary!alternatives!epistemologically!based!on!cultural!difference.!It!is!a!project!of!
cultural!studies!as!political!practice,!which!offers!“possibilities!for!transforming!the!politics!
of!representation,!that!is,!transforming!social!life!itself”!(Escobar!1994:!225).!Investigating!
social! mobilization! helps! to! understand! “the! ways! in! which! cultural! actorsB! cultural!
producers,! intermediaries,! and! the! publicB! transform! their! practices! in! the! face! of!
modernity’s!contradictions”!(Escobar!1994:!225)xxxv.!Boaventura!de!Sousa!Santos!describes!
an!Epistemology!of!Seeing!as!a!search!for!alternatives!that!specifically!come!from!social!
mobilization!in!the!“underdeveloped”!global!South.!!The!“global!South”!and!“global!North”!
are!not!geographic!hemispheres!but!cultural!territories!of!hegemony!and!antiBhegemony.!
The!South!constitutes!a!rescaled!global!geography!from!which!absent!and/or!marginalized!
actors!may!be!offering!antiBhegemonic!possibilities!(de!Sousa!Santos,!2001).!It!is!therefore!
a!search!for!Southern!Epistemologies,!which!provide!alternatives!to!the!way!the!world!has!
hegemonically!constructed!society!through!new!processes!of!production!and!valorization!
of!valid!knowledges.!“Seeing”!describes!the!way!these!associations!promote!intercultural!
citizenship! audiovisually,! and! provides! an! opportunity! to! practice! an! epistemology! of!
alternatives!that!parallels!the!work!it!observes.!!
Logically,!the!antithesis!of!an!Epistemology!of!Seeing!is!an!Epistemology!of!Blindness.!De!
Sousa!Santos!(2001;!2012)!describes!“Blindness”!as!the!creation!and!ignorance!of!absences!
based!on!limited!representation!in!hegemonic!thinking!selecting!knowledge!circularly!with!
faith!in!normality!and!predefined!endsxxxvi.!He!describes!hegemony!as!the!past!AmericanB
European!Century,!which!has!exported!liberal!market!economies,!culture!and!public!policy!
31. 31!
with!a!faith!in!its!own!universal!principles!(de!Sousa!Santos!2001).!‘Seeing’,!on!the!other!
hand,!is!a!search!for!and!synthesis!of!collective!knowledge!relevant!for!cultural!translation!
(de! Sousa! Santos! 2012).! Cultural! translation! makes! an! “ecology! of! knowledges”xxxvii
possible! by! interpreting! cultural! differences! aiming! “to! identify! isomorphic! concerns!
among! them! and! the! different! answers! they! provide”! (de! Sousa! Santos! 2012:! 59).! The!
knowledge! is! collective! in! this! research! due! to! its! multidisciplinary! approach! and! its!
inclusion!of!participants,!projects!and!phenomena.!Another!idea!of!collective!knowledge!is!
to! have! knowledge! produced! collectively! with! the! Quechuan! concept! ayni:! community!
work! based! on! reciprocity! and! mutual! good! rather! than! money! market! systems.! The!
political!purposive!search!for!alternative!knowledge!is!based!on!common!sense,!requiring!
it!to!be!selfBevident,!transparent!and!obviously!useful!knowledgexxxviii.!!Science!merged!with!
common!sense!can!be!rhetorical!and!metaphorical!without!provoking!significant!ruptures!
in!reality;!it!can!be!persuasive!as!it!fuses!enjoyment,!aesthetics,!wisdom!and!the!emotional!
with!the!intellectual,!critical,!and!practical!(de!Sousa!Santos!2001:!271B72).!The!end!result!
should!be!a!sociology!of!emergences!replacing!the!emptiness!of!a!linear!future!with!plural!
and!concrete!possibilities,!utopian!and!realist!at!one!time,!and!constructed!in!the!present!
by!means!of!activities!of!care!(de!Sousa!Santos!2012:!54B56).!!
The Documentary Genre
In!the!1930s!John!Grierson!defined!the!documentary!genre!as!“the!creative!treatment!of!
actuality”,!which!takes!creative!license!in!the!artistry!of!production!and!at!the!same!time!
incorporates!the!responsibilities!of!the!journalist!or!historian!(Nichols,!2010):!!“Neither!a!
fictional! invention! nor! a! factual! reproduction,! documentary! draws! on! and! refers! to!
historical!reality!while!representing!it!from!a!distinct!perspective.”!(Nichols,!2010).!It!gives!
a!space!in!which!representations!of!reality!are!created!through!the!eyes!of!a!filmmaker;!
“Documentary! film! reveals! reality! and! interprets! it”! (Alvarez! et! al.,! 2014).! Nichols!
highlights!three!characteristics!of!the!documentary!genre:!films!involve!real!situations!and!
people!(social!actors)!who!present!themselves!in!stories!conveying!situations!and!events!
plausibly,! all! of! which! is! shaped! by! the! distinct! filmmaker! point! of! view! projecting! the!
historical! world! directly! rather! than! as! a! fictional! allegoryxxxix!(Nichols,! 2010).! He! then!
32. 32!
provides!four!areas!for!analyzing!the!production!of!documentary!films.!Three!of!these!are!
important! to! understand! the! infrastructure! of! DocuPeru! and! its! work:! institutions! that!
support!documentary!production!and!reception,!the!creative!efforts!of!filmmakers,!and!the!
expectations!of!audiences.!!
Participatory(Documentary(Making(
Community! social! documentaries! break! down! vertical! social! hierarchies! to! produce!
cultural!content!horizontally!(Coffman,!2009).!This!process!is!revolutionizing!the!popular!
forms!of!social!documentaries:!
“Rather!than!waiting!for!an!individual!filmmaker!to!identify!them!as!storytelling!“material,”!though,!
groups!are!beginning!to!seek!filmmaking!assistance!on!their!own.!Getting!one’s!story!told—well?
told—is! more! affordable! now! too,! which! means! that! new! opportunities! exist! nationally! and!
internationally! for! trained! filmmakers! to! work! with! nonprofit! groups! or! nongovernmental!
organizations!(NGOs)”!(Coffman,!2009:!62).!!
Coffman’s!terms!for!participatory!documentaries!give!a!systemized!easyBtoBunderstand!
vocabulary!for!looking!at!participatory!documentary!filmmaking.!For!example,!La!Mochila!
Documental! student! participants! are! filmmakers,! DocuPeru! members! are! producers!
(assessors! in! DocuPeru! terminology),! and! the! subjects! and! community! are! the!
documentaries’! people,! setting! and! content.! She! points! out! many! challenges! within!
collaborative! documentary! genre! that! reflect! my! own! production! experience! with!
DocuPeru;!especially,!the!low!public!service!need!or!priority!of!audiovisual!interventions,!
filmmaker!and!producer!expectations!regarding!content!and!control,!and!the!assumptions!
that!filmmaking!is!easy,!disregarding!the!limits!of!time!or!money!(Coffman,!2009)5.!
5!I’ve!included!a!table!in!the!Appendix!summarizing!all!five!of!the!challenges!she!articulates!for!participatory!
filmmaking!!
33. 33!
4. Culture for Development Methodology
De!Sousa!Santos!in!describing!the!binary!relationship!between!‘Seeing’!and!‘Blindness’!is!
observing! the! perceived! rupture! between! the! two,! not! recommending! it.! Scientific!
Knowledge!is!precise,!reliable,!applicable,!and!replicable;!this!is!why!a!sophisticated!and!
internationally! accepted! scientific! method! developed! by! the! UN! to! measure! Culture! for!
Development! has! been! applied! to! dissident! collectives.! I! applied! the! methodology! with!
poetic! license! by! translating! national! scale! to! a! local! scale! and! exploring! the!
conceptualization! and! application! of! the! quantitative! indicators! qualitatively.! This! is!
accomplished!by!founding!the!operationalization!and!application!on!the!basic!tenements,!
definitions,!and!mission!of!the!methodology!to!provide!assumptions!a!scientific!foundation.!
At! the! same! time! the! indicators,! like! culture! and! art,! are! given! the! capacity! to! evolve!
conceptually!and!create!new!knowledge!in!experimental!ways.!!
UNESCO Culture for Development Indicators
The!2014!UNESCO!Culture!for!Development!Indicators!(CDIS)!stem!directly!from!the!2003!
Convention! on! the! Protection! and! Promotion! of! Diversity! of! Cultural! Expressions! which!
represents!!“the!last!building!block!in!the!standardBsetting!structure!developed!by!UNESCO!
to! defend! cultural! diversity”! (Ministerio! de! Asuntos! Extoriales,! 2015).! It! was! enacted! in!
2007!in!consideration!of!“the!invaluable!role!of!the!intangible!cultural!heritage!as!a!factor!
in! bringing! human! beings! closer! together! and! ensuring! exchange! and! understanding!
among!them”!(UNESCO,!2003).!The!ripple!effects!of!this!convention!appear!internally!in!the!
CDIS!Methodology,!and!the!IFCD!funding!local!projects!that!treat!development!through!the!
creative!lens!(UNESCO!IFCD,!2014).!Externally,!the!Ministry!of!Culture!for!Peru!was!born!
five!years!after!ratifying!the!convention.!The!ministry!has!been!active!in!promoting!a!new!
cultural!policy!framework!for!the!multifaceted!nature!of!culture!for!development!(Balta,!
2014)!and!has!produced!a!national!statistical!report!applying!CDIS!methodology!to!Peru.!
This!research!pursues!three!of!the!UNESCO!internal!recommendations,!on!the!local!level,!
for!furthering!the!2005!UNESCO!Convention,!including!sharing!good!practices!in!key!areas,!
encouraging! attention! to! the! conditions! of! cultural! industry! and! the! role! of! civil! society!
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actors,!and!working!towards!the!explicit!inclusion!of!culture!as!a!‘driver’!and!‘enabler!’in!
the! postB2015! development! agendaxl .! “Culture! is! one! of! those! omnibus! terms! like!
democracy! or! environment! which! embraces! many! different! usages! employed! by! many!
different!people!for!many!different!purposes”!(Cultural!Development!Network!2001,!iii).!
UNESCO!CDIS!Methodology!(2014)!is!an!effort!to!define!and!quantify!culture!so!that!policy!
makers! and! development! practitioners! can! account! for! it.! In! terms! of! UNESCO’s!
methodology,!however,!what!might!be!missing!by!quantifying!something!that!is!so!deeply!
subjective!and!embedded!in!being!human?!!
The!CDIS!Methodology!consists!of!7!dimensions,!Economic,!Education,!Governance,!Social,!
Gender,!Communication,!and!Cultural!Heritage,!organized!into!22!indicators.!!
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Basic(CDIS(Methodological(Tenements
These! indicators! are! constructed! upon! five! methodological! tenements.! The! first! is!
pragmatism,!which!is,!“taking!into!account!the!specific!characteristics,!needs!and!realities!
of! low! and! middleBincome! countries,! in! order! to! offer! them! a! viable,! effective! and! costB
efficient!tool”!(UNESCO!2014).!The!next!is!broad!participation,!as!each!country!interprets!
the!CDIS!Methodology!by!including!the!opinions!of!“a!broad!array!of!stakeholders!in!the!
process!of!data!collection”!(UNESCO!2014).!Flexibility!and!adaptability!are!needed!to!suit!
different! development! contexts! and! level! of! data! availability! and! offering! a! flexible!
implementation! scheme! that! accepts! the! construction! of! additional! and! alternative!
indicators!(UNESCO!2014).!One!Ministry!of!Culture!Official!who!adapted!the!UNESCO!CDIS!
indicators!to!Peru!described!to!me!how!the!indicators!were!changed!to!be!more!pertinent!
and! representative! because! the! indicators! didn’t! “represent! the! manner! of! producing!
culture! that! exists! in! this! country”xli.! ! The! fourth! tenet! is! multidimensionality,! which!
allows! for! a! transversal! analysis! and! dialectical! analysis! of! the! indicators,! creating! “a!
holistic! and! inclusive! illustration! of! the! relationship! between! culture! and! development”!
(UNESCO!2014).!Research!multidimensionality!comes!from!allowing!different!indicators!to!
interact!in!the!analysis!and!grouping!indicators!together.!The!last!tenement!is!capacityR
building! and! policy! impact.! This! allows! the! interpretation! of! cultural! statistics! to! offer!
suggestions!for!policy!purposes.!The!indicators!were!applied!first!with!the!core!UNESCO!
definitions!in!the!fieldwork.!The!fully!realized!conceptualization!comes!from!a!process!of!
respondent! participation! and! postBoperationalization.! Conceptualization! was! initially! a!
result!of!data!analysis,!and!later,!used!as!a!dataBcoding!tool.!This!process!includes!flexibility!
and!pragmatism!by!letting!a!few!indicators!fall!in!to!the!background!to!focus!on!answering!
research!questions.!This!gives!a!much!more!manageable!and!relevant!list!of!about!12!core!
indicators!for!analysis:!
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Culture,!like!genetics!is!inherited,!and!the!indicators!at!the!bottom!serve!to!translate,!or!
synthesize! culture! into! development! much! like! the! chemical! bases! in! our! DNA.! This!
visualization!tool!shows!how!Peru!is!applying!the!principles!of!Culture!for!Development!
nationally.!I!will!not!attempt!to!construct!an!entire!Culture!DNA!but!rather!understand!and!
describe!how!these!indicators!interact!multiBdimensionally!within!community!film.!!
Operationalization of Selected Indicators
To! capture! phenomena! multiBdimensionally,! I! have! included! at! least! one! indicator! from!
each!dimension.!Subjectively!the!perceptions!of!those!involved!form!a!strong!basis!of!the!
research! explored! by! the! respondents’! reflection! on! relevant! experience,! work,! and!
valuesxliii.!I!describe!below!the!original!understandings!of!the!core!UNESCO!indicators!for!
the!research,!relevant!CDIS!results!in!Peru,!and!researchBtailored!conceptualizations.!!A!full!
list! of! the! 22! indicators! with! their! conceptualizations! and! findings! can! be! found! in! the!
appendix.!!
Economic:! UNESCO! describes! the! importance! of! culture! in! this! dimension! as! a! driver! of!
growth,!diversifying!national!economies,!generating!income!and!employment!in!national!
economiesxliv.!Employment!in!Cultural!Activities!is!defined!as!the!percentage!of!people!
employed! in! cultural! occupations! out! of! the! total! of! employed! population,! including!
cultural!and!creative!industries.!The!latest!CDIS!national!study!found!Peru!at!3.3%!cultural!
employmentxlv,!which!is!hardly!representative!of!the!real!number!of!informal!employment.!
The!research!focuses!on!members’!freelance!professional!work!to!sustain!themselves!and!
the!collective!social!work!that!is!based!on!noneconomic!incentives!and!values.!!!
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Governance:( Governance! represents! many! of! the! regulations,! policies,! and! institutional!
mechanisms! enacted! by! public! authorities! to! promote! cultural! diversity,! and! strengthen!
cultural! sectors! and! processesxlvi.! Standard! Setting! Framework! describes! the! national!
implementation! of! the! UNESCO! 2005! Convention,! which! can! be! explored! through! the!
national! Policy! and! Institutional! Framework! for! Culture.! The! national! policies! and!
institutions!observed!in!the!research!fall!in!line!with!the!standards!set!by!UNESCO!reflected!
in!the!high!Standard!Setting!Framework!level!in!Peru!at!0.78/1!(UNESCO!CDIS!Database,!
2014).!One!ministry!official!confirmed!this;!“through!the!law,!our!directives,!our!plans!are!
formed! by! their! [UNESCO’s]! proposal”! (Cacera! Vegas,! Official! A! and! Official! B,! 2015).!
Therefore! I! combine! these! two! indicators:! the! Policy! and! Institutional! Framework! is!
support!and!initiatives!by!the!national!ministries!of!Peru,!and!local!municipalities!in!the!
realm! of! community! film.! The! Distribution! of! Cultural! Infrastructure! functions! as! an!
index!that!illustrates!the!geography of!Peruvian!cultural!institutions.!The!research!focuses!
on!one!organization,!and!so!distribution!is!taken!out!of!the!definition.!Thus it becomes !the!
Organization!Infrastructure!of!DocuPeru!and!its!unique!mechanisms!of!sustainability.!
Education:!The!conceptualization!of!the!horizontal!audiovisual!educative!process!include!
Art!Education!and!Professional!Training,!both!in!production!and!diffusion,!and!will!often!
be!referred!to!simply!as!Education.!Documentary!film!is!an!art!form,!a!communication!tool,!
and! a! professional! vocation,! which! gives! it! a! further! connection! with! Employment! in!
Cultural! Activities.! These! two! education! indicators! can! be! applied! separately! in! data!
analysis! by! matching! professional! training! to! participation! in! technical! methods! of!
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production!and!distribution;!Art!Education!(AE)!can!be!applied!to!the!plurality!of!artistic!
languages!explored!in!workshops,!and!the!screening!of!socially!conscious!documentaries!
and! movies! in! communities:! a! pedagogy! of! cultivating! audiovisual! literacy.! In! the! CDIS!
Methodology!AE!represents!the!percentage!of!hours!of!AE!out!of!the!total!number!of!public!
school! instructional! hours! (UNESCO! CDIS! 2014).! Qualitatively! it! involves! creativity! in!
production,!generation!and!communication!of!symbolic!meaningxlvii!(Galloway,!S.,!&!Dunlop,!
S. 2007:!21).!The!UNESCO!Road!Map!for!Art!Education!(2006)!describes!AE!as!structured
through!three!complimentary!pedagogies:!the!study!of!artistic!works,!direct!contact!with
artistic! works,! and! engaging! in! arts! practices.! Peru! is! performing! well! in! Inclusive
Educationxlviii,!yet!scored!lowest!on!AE,!and!at!5.71%!is!closer!to!Namibia!(2.40%)!than!its
regional!neighbor,!Columbia!(17%)!(UNESCO!CDIS!Database,!2014).!Inclusive!Education,!is
the! underlying! mission! that! DocuPeru! member! Nataniel! described! as! “our! methodology
and!also!participation.!In!the!form!of!education!it!changes!the!relation!between!teacher!and
student”! (Fargung,! 2015).! ! Multilingual! Education! refers! to! the! plurality! of! languages
used! in! Peruvian! community! film,! in! the! case! of! La! Mochila! workshop,! Spanish! and
Quechua.
Social( Participation:! The! CDIS! indicators! measure! the! social! values! superficially! with!
Freedom!of!SelfRDetermination!(FSD),!which!is!the!median!score!of!percentage!of!people!
who! feel! they! have! control! over! their! lives.! IdentityRBuilding! Activities! (IDB)! as! the!
percentage! of! the! population! who! participated! in! one! such! activity! in! a! year,! and!
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Intercultural! Trust! as! the! degree! of! tolerance! within! a! society! towards! people! from!
different! cultural! backgrounds.! UNESCO! admits! that! IDB! especially! is! at! the! core! of!
intangible! cultural! heritage! of! a! group! or! society,! and! yet! represents! a! large! share! of!
activities! that! are! often! absent! from! official! national! statistics! (UNESCO,! 2014:! 85).!
Intercultural! Trust! is! included! in! the! broader! term! Interpersonal! Trust.! Often,! these!
indicators! will! be! grouped! together! as! Social! Participation! and! include! emergent!
indicators!such!as!selfBesteem!and!selfBrepresentation.!!
Gender:!In!this!context!Gender!is!measured!by!‘equal!opportunity!and!choice’!for!men!and!
women!to!take!control!of!their!lives!(UNESCO,!2014).!It!is!at!the!heart!of!realizing!inclusive!
development.!The!objective!Gender!Equality!in!Peru!output!is!.82,!above!average,!and!the!
subjective!perception!is!77%,!the!second!highest!after!Uruguay!(UNESCO!CDIS!Database,!
2014).! Most! respondents! observed! both! the! perception! and! objective! output! of! Gender!
deceptive! and! overly! optimistic,! and! confirmed! Peru! as! a! deeply! machista! society.!
Gender
!
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!Communication:!Freedom!of!Expression!is!a!human!rightxlix.!For!UNESCO!it!is!an!index!of!
print/broadcast/internetl based!media!freedom.!For!the!research,!it!is!the!central!theme!of!
Alternative! Media! and! the! driving! force! behind! most! Community! Film! Associations! and!
initiatives!(Alvarez!et!al.,!2014).!Diversity!of!Cultural!Content!will!be!valued!not!as!public!
broadcast! but! the! content! and! distribution! of! organizations’! alternative! cultural/artistic!
products.!The!Cultural!Content!on!TV!was!measured!in!the!Peru!Culture!for!Development!
report! at! containing! 25%l!nationally! produced! content! and! 75%! international! content!
(Peru!Ministerio!de!Cultura,!2014).!Except!for!Chaski,!most!of!these!organizations!rate!low,!
and!due!to!their!free!virtual!and!live!diffusion!strategy!their!audience!is!potentially!huge,!
but!their!products!remain!invisible,!especially!in!the!mass!media.!It!is!however!integral!to!
their!political!strategy!of!democratizing!media!and!makes!up!their!hopes!and!dreams.!In!
almost! every! community! I! visited! for! audiovisual! projects,! Internet! was! not! an! option.!
DocuPeru!works!within!the!Use!of!Internet!for!promoting!the!organization,!projects!and!
documentaries!and!also!in!terms!of!access!to!Internet!for!communities,!a!contemporary!
component of Freedom of Expression.
Cultural( Heritage:! Cultural! Heritageli!Sustainability! is! an! indicator! aggregated! from!
informational!and!media!programs!that!enhance!social!agents’!connection!to!heritage!in!
societylii!and! describes! the! robustness! of! cultural! heritage! transmission.! This!
dimension!should!be!explored!qualitatively!acknowledging!Cultural!Heritage!is!made!
sustainable!with!
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community!film!diffusing!diverse!cultural!expressions,!documenting!them!creatively,!thus!
transmitting!cultural!heritage!as!a!living!resource.!!
Mixed(Methods(Approach(
The!following!primary!qualitative!techniques!are!based!on!pragmatism,!subjectivism,!and!
contextual!relevancy6:!!
• Coding!and!content!analysis!of!interviews
• Cognitive!mapping
• Seeking!patterning!of!responses
• Presenting!crossBsite!analysis!(crossBcase!studies,!with!focus!on!primary!case)
• Personal!constructs
• Narrative!accounts
Gathering!the!quantitative!data!meant!creating!primary!sources!with!two!questionnaires!
for!the!eleven!to!twelve!participants!at!the!Mochila!Documental.!The!surveys!try!to!collect!
information!on!qualitative!intangible!variables!through!a!closed!structure.!The!quantitative!
and!qualitative!approaches!are!connected!together!to!provide!what!Gerring!(2012)!calls!
“mere! description”.! In! order! to! prevent! indeterminacy,! description! removes! causal!
arguments!asking!‘why?’!Instead,!description!focuses!on!associational!understandings!with!
“descriptive! arguments! about! multidimensional! components! of! a! phenomenon,! or! the!
properties!of!various!units”!!(Gerring,!2012).!Description,!quantitatively!and!qualitatively,!
gives!an!impression!of!observational!evidence!that!is!useful,!but!at!times!immeasurable!and!
intangible,!and!hopefully!renders!the!focal!processes!and!values!visible.!!
6!These!techniques!are!from!Cohen!!(2011,!130)!
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Instrument! application! involved! purposive! sampling! of! relevant! phenomena! and! actors.!
This! included! document! analysis! and! audiovisual! research! to! analyze! the! products,! and!
nonBparticipant! observations! of! microcines! and! live! plays.! Participant! observation! was!
involved! in! setting! up! and! striking! community! screenings,! attending! classes! and!
audiovisual! production! workshops.! SemiBopen! inBdepth! interviews! were! conducted! with!
the! filmmakers,! producers,! ministry! officials,! academic! specialists! and! organization!
directors.! Two! surveys! in! the! Mochila! Documental! workshop! were! done! to! evaluate!
filmmakers’! experience.! The! first! focused! on! collecting! background! and! descriptive!
information,!and!the!second,!selfBreflection!on!the!possible!processes!of!empowerment!and!
results! of! the! workshop.! Two! questions! meant! to! measure! empowerment! and! visibility!
were! surveyed! at! the! final! Mochila! Documental! day,! after! the! premier! screening! of! the!
animation! and! documentary! films7.! The! first! question! refers! to! the! character! of! the!
products!and!the!possible!empowerment!or!visibility!value!produced!in!terms!of!Culture!
and!Communication!for!Developmentliii.!Rated!Low!to!High,!the!filmmakers!are!asked!to!
what!degree!the products!communicate! Community! Cohesion,! Local! Identity! Expression,!
Community!Aspirations,! Community! Issues,! and! Solutions! for! Local! Problems.! The!
second!question!refers!to!the!subjective!individual!and!intangible!processes!of
empowerment!and!visibility!involved! in! the! Mochila! Documental! workshopliv.! These!
measure! any! increase! in! Social!Participation! and! Communication! Dimensions,!
specifically,! Freedom! of! Expression,! SelfB Esteem,! SelfBDetermination,! Interpersonal!
Trust,! Identity! Construction,! and! Self!Representation.! It! was! further! explored!
qualitatively! by! asking! four! producers! and!filmmakers!each!what!they!and!others!have!
learned!in!their!experiences,!and!how!they!will!use!what!they!have!learned!in!the!future.!!!
Ethics and Limitations of Research
“The!activities,!even!the!smallest!things!they!do,!are!of!these!groups!and!these!producers!
they! are! important! but! we! shouldn’t! lose! the! notion! that! it! is! very! small! what! they!
are!doing!and!aren’t!resolving!many!of!the!problems”!(Pastor,!2015).!Local!supervisor!
Susana!Pastor! describes! how! these! organizations! are! solely! making! and! spreading!
movies! as!
7!The!full!surveys!can!be!found!in!the!Appendix!Section!
44. 44!
guides!to!educate!and!offering!options!to!future!generationslv.!The!research!magnifies!the!
community! film! processes! and! products! and! it! should! be! kept! in! mind! that,! to! my!
knowledge,!the!real!impact!of!these!organizations!on!a!national!scale!is!rather!small,!or!
difficult! to! measure.! Voluntary! participation! and! informed! consent! were! provided,! and!
deception!was!avoided!by!having!the!Liman!respondentslvi!sign!consent!forms!explaining!
the!right!to!withdraw!and!a!checkbox!for!anonymity.!I!introduced!myself!on!the!first!day!of!
class! and! explained! the! research,! my! role! and! the! affiliate! university.! La! Mochila!
filmmakers!were!informed!of!the!right!to!anonymity!or!exclusion!from!the!research.!Before!
each!interview!I!reiterated!the!goal!of!the!research!and!offered!anonymitylvii.!More!than!
thirty!primary!interview!transcripts!were!translated!from!Spanish!and!transcribed!by!the!
researcher.!Although!I!am!not!entirely!fluent!in!Spanish,!this!did!not!hinder!participation!
and!I!worked!hard!to!represent!the!voices!of!respondents!honestly!and!with!personality,!at!
times! a! bit! resistant! to! translate! colorful! Peruvian! colloquialisms.! The! most! significant!
ethical! issue! arose! from! the! inBdepth! participation! in! the! workshops,! classes! and! film!
production.!These!organizations!have!a!clear!political!ideology,!with!which!the!researcher!
agrees.! I! was! aware! of! my! impact! within! the! workshops,! but! with! a! shootBfirstBaskB
questionsBlater!filmmaking!attitude,!I!chose!selfBparticipation!as!the!most!effective!way!to!
collectively! gain! knowledge.! In! terms! of! research! in! participatory! cultural! content!
production,!the!researcher!has!an!opportunity!to!share!whatever!relevant!tools!he!or!she!
has.!I!worked!vigorously!to!support!whatever!tasks!were!at!hand!and!include!myself!in!the!
creative!process.!Studying!people!and!events!critically!at!a!distance!in! the! realm! of! the!
production! of! cultural! content!will!never!have!more!clarity!than!when!the!researcher!
works!alongside!the!respondents!with!respect!and!deference.!There!were!consequences!to!
my!participationlviii,!and!throughout!the!whole!production!process!I!tried!to!meet!a!balance!
of!support!and!consciousness!of!exterior!influence.!Of!course,!both!had!implications!in!the!
production!and!educative!processes.!!
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5. Data Sections
The!four!data!sections!answer!every!subBquestion!sequentially,!except!for!the!subBquestion!
on!the!obstacles!to!inclusive!development!in!Peru!answered!in!Chapter!2.!The!narrative!
moves!from!DocuPeru!infrastructure,!to!the!paradigm,!methodology,!pedagogy!and!finally!
the!results!of!visibility!and!empowerment!in!La!Mochila!Documental.!!
Data Section I: DocuPeru Infrastructure: Finances, Economic Employment, Professional
Training, and Sustainability
Finances(and(Funding(
All! elements! of! DocuPeru’s! internal! infrastructure! are! a! reflection! of! their! political! and!
ideological!posture.!DocuPeru!is!strictly!informal!refuting!any!form!of!NGO!structure:!!“Yes,!
we’re!not!interested!in!being!NGOs,!we’re!a!cultural!association.!If!you’re!in!an!NGO!you’re!
always!having!to!justify!your!salaries,!the!objectives,!the!information.”!In!recent!years!they!
relocated! their! office! from! Director! Jose’s! house! to! an! alternative! arts! high! school,!
symbolically! expressing! their! ideology! through! the! socioBlocation! of! the! organization.! In!
terms! of! funding,! my! findings! confirm! Liesbeth! Hermans’! (2013,! 74):! “As! a! nonBprofit!
organization!without!a!fixed!income!of!money,!financing!and!finding!funds!has!always!been!
difficult!for!DOCUPERU.”!Former!General!Producer!Andrea!comments!on!the!reluctance!of!
private!business!to!associate!with!DocuPeru!and!its!political!line:!!
“For!political!reasons,!DocuPeru!can’t!get!funding!from!businesses,!like!from!telecommunications,!
or! credit! card! [companies]! […]! I! remember! once! that! we! wanted! finance,! and! one! of! my! best!
friend’s! father! was! a! president! of! a! credit! bank.! And! I! asked! them! if! it! was! possible! to! receive!
financing!from!the!credit!bank!and!he!told!me!‘!Look,!it!doesn’t!come!from!a!fiscal!source,!but!from!
the! ideology! that! the! group! has! established.! In! reality! I! don’t! think! I! can! help! you! because! your!
content!is!too!strong!politically!and!to!the!left,!and!we’re!not!going!to!meddle!in!these!things'”!(Vela!
Arcon,!2015).!
This! differs,! for! example,! from! La! Combi’s! financing! strategy,! which! is! more! politically!
neutral!and!accepts!more!private!fundinglix.!!However,!the!limitations!are!not!only!due!to!
certain!social!sectors!perceptions,!but!DocuPeru’s!selectivity!in!their!networks,!both!local!
46. 46!
and! financial,! to! maintain! their! social! and! political! integrity! and! promote! the! agenda! of!
local!communities:!!
“We!go!into!an!intervention,!puta,!with!heart,!with!respect.!If!an!organization!contracts!us!to!make!a!
political!game,!photos,!the!bureaucracy,!no,!no,!no,!DocuPeru,!no,!pardon,!we!are!not!for!this.!So!this!
means!we’re!really!fucked,!because!we!give!the!respect!to!the!public,!we!respect!the!communities;!if!
an! organization! comes! with! some! shit,! we! split.! So! this! is! a! line! of! not! having! money! gave! us!
political!freedom!to!do!what!we!want!to!do”!(Balado,!2015).!
Money!must!come!without!political!strings!attached!to!allow!the!freedom!to!follow!through!
with!inclusive!development!and!social!justice!in!their!work.!DocuPeru!is!hesitant!to!work!
with! and! therefore! promote! hierarchal! political! parties! and! institutions! or! private!
businesses.!This!filters!funding!and!networks!to!grassBroots!associations!and!national!and!
international! GOs! and! NGOs! who,! often! dissident,! share! similar! political! agendas.! For!
example,! Jose! describes! the! personality! clash! in! the! partnership! with! the! Ministry! of!
Education,!which!was!financing!the!Pullcalpa!Caravana,!unconcerned!with!and!absent!from!
the!process!of!visibility!and!empowerment,!assumed!a!leadership!role!giving!orders!on!the!
placement! of! the! screen,! logolx,! and! using! the! intervention! as! a! publicity! stunt.! Jose’s!
reaction:!!“I’m!not!going!to!do!whatever!you!want.!You!came!to!take!some!photos,!don’t!put!
us!in!the!photo;!we’re!not!working!for!politicians”!(Balado,!2015).!The!lack!of!fixed!funding!
and! the! political! and! social! line! mean! that! each! project! is! selfBmanaged! and! the! finance!
strategy!matches!the!profile!of!the!project.!Created!from!the!local!agenda!and!community!
issues,!the!profile!of!the!project! has!certain!themes!(for!example,!human!rights,!gender,!
climate! change,! leadership)! and! local! contacts.! Financiers! and! DocuPeru! converge! to!
support!and!visualize!these!themeslxi.!!
Wide!consensus!exists!among!members!that!even!if!there’s!not!enough!money!for!a!project!
sheer! will! and! determination! will! see! it! through.! Jose! describes! the! alternative! nonB
monetary!structure!as!a!uniquely!Peruvian!and!Southern!type!of!social!mobilizationBbased!
development:!
“These!other!countries!that!are!developed,!what!I!found!interesting,!is!that!if!there!are!no!funds,!
there’s! no! development.! […]! If! they! don’t! have! money! they! don’t! do! it.! Here,! we! do! it! without!
money.!The!money!will!come!afterwards.!It’s!a!different!logic!of!acting.![…]!This!is!what!I!like!about!
Peru,!people!are!generating!projects,!with!or!without!money,!but!they!are!still!generating!them”!
(Balado,!2015).!
47. 47!
Of! course,! there! is! a! downside! to! downplaying! the! economic! necessities! when! it! causes!
certain! periods! of! financial! insecurity! for! projects.! For! example,! the! DAFO! Award! was!
miscalculated!by!23,000!soles,!and!before!Adriana!became!producer!in!2012,!DocuPeru!had!
never! properly! registered,! created! any! invoices! nor! paid! any! taxes.! In! interviews,! the!
financial!security!and!economic!limits!for!DocuPeru!were!members’!greatest!fears.!!
Sources(and(Flows(of(DocuPeru(Financing(
This!diagram!reveals!how!DocuPeru!uses!financing!networks:!IGOs!and!GOs!provide!the!
overall!funding!for!projects!and!the!local!NGOs!prepare!many!of!the!logistical!necessities,!
such!as!places!to!sleep!(a!church!or!someone’s!house)!and!food,!and!recruiting!workshop!
participants.!This!diagram!is!not!comprehensive!but!illustrates!the!diversity!of!financing!
that!DocPeru!must!find!to!accomplish!projects.!Despite!Jose’s!dislike!of!hierarchal!GOs,!
DocuPeru!has!worked!with!government!bodies!on!several!occasions.!In!many!cases!the!
INGOs!are!working!directly!with!local!NGOs,!such!as!Broederlijk!Delen!and!Cedep!Ayllu.!In!
48. 48!
the!case!of!the!local!Huancabamba!NGOs!for!the!Medios!Que!Conmueven!project,!and!the!
women’s!association!in!Apurimac,!DocuPeru’s!community!mobilization!and!products!
served!as!a!channel!of!communication!to!demand!recognition!and!reparations!from!the!
Ministry!of!Justice.!These!examples!illustrate!the!potential!capacity!for!(virtual)!civic!
participation!by!showing!dissident!DocuPeru!products!to!Peruvian!congress!or!government!
hierarchies.!The!size!of!the!DocuPeru!team,!the!number!of!participants,!and!the!quantity!of!
funding!dictate!the!longevity!and!amount!of!activities!permittedlxii.!!
DocuPeru( Members:( Economic( Employment,( Professional( Training( and( Socio?Political(
Incentives((
DocuPeru! is! in! no! way! an! economic! employer,! however,! exploration! of! the! factors! of!
‘employment’! in! the! infrastructure! enabled! discovery! of! the! alternative! strategies! of!
organizational!sustainability!it!maintains!with!so!much!economic!insecurity.!Members!are!
paid!a!small!salary!for!projects,!which!they!estimate!at!one!third!of!the!market!price8.!The!
preBproduction!office!work!and!publicity!is!done!voluntarily,!facilitated!by!the!concept!of!
Ayni.!Members!cite!the!unique!DocuPeru!internal!mechanisms!operating!on!heart,!family,!
friendship,! love! and! affection! as! its! greatest! strength.! Above! all! else,! Ayni! rejects!
individualism!and!hierarchal!social!organization;!“It!surprised!me!how!individualism!didn’t!
exist!between!the!people!who!were!so!capable.!All!of!them!had!criticism!and!issues!of!other!
things,!so!each!one!had!an!idea!and!shared!it!with!everyone!in!the!process.!For!me!it!was!
like,! wow! this! exists,! a! community! in! which! you’re! not! doing! your! work! alone”! (Urco,!
2015).!!Jose!describes!the!magic!of!this!type!of!work:!“[…]!the!office!is!always!full.!So!you!
say!how!cool!because!we’re!from!the!heart,!no!one!is!working!on!a!salary,!they’re!working!
because!they!believe!in!the!project”!(Balado,!2015).!!
It!cannot!be!ignored!that!this!amount!of!unpaid!labor!also!leads!to!some!conflict!and!
unhappiness! among! members,! yet! any! complaint! is! greatly! overshadowed! by! the!
commitment! of! members! to! a! common! vision,! dream! or! aspiration.! ! As! manager! of! all!
projects,! the! general! producer,! feels! the! pressure! of! voluntary! work! most! acutely.! Both!
current!and!former!members!describe!the!general!producer!as!an!unpaid!fullBtime!office!
8!This!can!be!as!much!as!500!dollars!for!one!month!or!as!little!as!nothing.!
49. 49!
worker.!Former!general!producer!Adriana!describes!this!as!a!point!of!conflict:!“It!becomes!
a! problem! when! they! start! asking! you! for! more! and! you’re! already! giving! a! lot! and! not!
receiving!a!pay!for!it![...]”!(UgarteBStirlicht,!2015).!She!describes!it!as!an!obstacle!in!that,!
“You!need!a!more!constant!motivation!in!order!to!accept!this!level!of!responsibility!that!
takes! a! mountain! of! time! and! energy”! (UgarteBStirlicht,! 2015).! One! general! producer!
described! the! informal! collaborative! nature! of! DocuPeru! as! culminating! in! a!
disproportionate!amount!of!responsibilities.!Current!member!Nathanial!wants!to!formalize!
the!general!producer!with!two!positions,!!
“We!work!in!our!free!time!and!we!also!have!our!own!work,!apart!from!DocuPeru,!we!of!course!are!
working.!So!we!don’t!need!financing,!we!have!to!search!for!money!for!the!projects.!I!think!this!is!
something!that’s!bad,!that!it’s!something!that!should!change.!I!am!trying!to!find!money!to!sponsor!
everything,!the!office,!the!coordination,!the!production,!like!a!production!office”!(Fargung,!2015).!
This! production! office! would! include! a! general! producer! and! coordinators! with! fixed!
salaries!to!carry!out,!what!in!reality,!are!full!time!jobs.!Although!only!an!aspiration,!it!would!
provide!the!necessary!support!and!commitment!to!the!current!increase!in!production!and!
organization!diffusion.!!
Every!DocuPeru!member!supports!himself!or!herself!financially!through!freelance!
professional! audiovisual! production 9 .! Members! are! actively! developing! themselves!
professionally! in! technical! skills! and! gaining! reputations! from! their! work! both! in! and!
outside! of! the! organization.! For! example,! although! Vice! President! Lali! had! studied!
audiovisual! communication,! she! had! no! professional! training! and! describes! her! first!
DocuPeru!production!experience:!“I!was!really!young!and!just!coming!from!university!and!
without! much! experience.! I! was! afraid! to! make! a! lot! of! mistakes! and! I! didn’t! want! to!
disappoint! my! team! and! Jose.! I! didn’t! have! the! perfect! technique,! because! other! people!
know!more!about!cameras!and!cutting!films”!(Maldueño,!2015).!Today,!she!is!a!successful!
professional!audiovisual!producer!contracted!for!largeBscale!concerts!and!international!TV!
shows! filmed! in! Peru.! Gabriela,! with! a! degree! in! anthropology,! describes! the! impact! of!
professional! training! within! the! organization:! “I! always! work! with! DocuPeru! because! it!
makes!me!really!the!person!I!am!now,!with!skills!in!production”!(Urco,!2015).!
9!Including,!movies,!photoshoots,!concerts,!independent!films!and!alternative!media,!and!TV!shows.!
