You are not alone in this fight : empowerment and visibility seen through the cultural lens of community film in Peru

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‘You Are Not Alone in

This Fight’

Empowerment and Visibility

Seen Through the Cultural Lens

of Community Film in Peru

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University!of!Amsterdam!Graduate!School!of!Social!Sciences!

Masters!in!International!Development!Studies!

A!Community!Film!Case!Study!of!DocuPeru!15!January!2016!

Supervisor:!Dr.!Enrique!Llata Cazares!University!of!

Amsterdam!

Second!reader:!Dr.!Arij!Ouweneel!Centre!for!Latin!American!

Research!and!Documentation!!

Andrew De La Pena

Email:

ardelape@gmail.com

Student Number 10918701

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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.!!

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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.!!

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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!

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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.!!

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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.!!

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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!we!ask!similar!Peruvian!organizations! 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?’

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!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!

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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).!}_!

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!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!project!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!

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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! claimed!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!

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founded!La!Combi!in!2013.!La!Combi!travels!with!an!inflatable!large!screen!for!community! projections!of!socially!conscious!movies!and!coordinates!with!select!communities!to!set!up! more! permanent! screen! installations.! La! Combi! is! also! involved! in! participatory! documentary!and!animation!production!with!a!focus!on!sharing!their!methods!with!young! learners.! I! traveled! with! this! association! to! Chuingi,! Ayacucho,! a! postBconflict! context,! to! help!with!production!workshops!and!film!screenings!that!explore!freedom!of!expression.!!

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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!

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(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!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!

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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!

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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)!}

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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.!

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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 History of Community Film in Latin America

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!

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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!

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(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! campesinosxxv_{!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!

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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).!

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3. Theoretical Framework

Ontologies and Theories in Culture, Alternative Media and International

Development

Culture(

John! Hawkes! expands! a! functional! definition! of! culturexxvii_{!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).(

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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!

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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!

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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!}

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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...]!

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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.”!

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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}

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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’s!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!

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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!us!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!}

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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:!

You are not alone in this fight : empowerment and visibility seen through the cultural lens of community film in Peru