We landed on December 17, 2012 and have been working the long days of summer in the south to their fullest. It has been a terrific and eventful season here in Montevideo with more than a dozen shoot days in Montevideo, Canelones, Atlántida, Melo and Durazno. Below is a map with the points of production highlighted. Click through and check it out.

We have been blessed with great contacts and generous hosts throughout.

Here are some highlights from the road:

A thousand thanks as always to our many supporters – donors and volunteers! We certainly would not be here and able to do this work without your generous donations of time and money.

We hope to have another update for you again in the coming weeks.  In the meantime, please feel free to leave a comment below, give us a shout on our facebook page, or write to us directly at contact(at)irisfilms(dot)org.

It’s been a whirlwind six weeks since my wife, kids and I moved to Montevideo for nine months. We have found an apartment, moved in, and hunted down things like sheets, toys, a crib, and a desk with which to transform the servicio, or maid’s room, into our Global Headquarters (also known as an office). We have enjoyed time with friends and relatives. We have visited our son’s future preschool, and softened the blow of his transition with new joys such as splashing in the Río de la Plata and riding the Gusano Manzanita roller coaster with him at Parque Rodó. We have walked the city for hours with baby strapped to one of our backs. And we have worked our behinds off producing the documentary that brought us here in the first place.

The film is called Afro Uruguay: Forward Together (you can see a five-minute trailer here). My wife, Pamela Harris, received a Fulbright Fellowship to spend nine months here, directing and producing this film about afrouruguayos, their culture and history and music and struggles for uplift. It’s been eight years in the making, a true grassroots labor of love. I am honored to be co-producing this film, which really means that I volunteer and serve however I can. I have no talent at all for gadgets but I’ve gotten better at monitoring sound without sitting on the equipment. I wear big headphones, translate, conduct interviews, make phone calls, translate some more, follow subjects around, and listen. Above all, listen. Documentary, I am learning, is a form of Deep Witness. And there is so much here to be witnessed, that deserves to be told.

The Uruguayan activist Tania Ramírez

Two days before we arrived in the country, a young Afro Uruguayan, Tania Ramírez, was severely beaten in the street by four women who called her a “negra sucia,” among other racial epithets (you can read more about the incident here). Tania’s liver was perforated, among other severe injuries; she faces a three-month physical recovery. She is also an activist and respected public figure, and for the past month the case has made headlines, filled airwaves, and shaken the nation into talking about race. Just yesterday, a judge handed down a verdict on three of the aggressors: he ruled them guilty, but stopped short of calling the attack a racist incident or hate crime.

Pam and I have been following this case closely, from the inside. I’m not quite ready to go into the details, out of respect for the people we’re working with, but I will say this: we were outside the courthouse with Tania’s loved ones on Tuesday, while she was inside giving testimony (under the Uruguayan legal system, no loved ones were allowed to enter with her, which seems cruel and usual from the perspective of a former rape crisis counselor like me). We stood in the oppressive summer heat with them, huddling in the shade of the grand Teatro Solis. We filmed, listened, waited. A half block away stood a cluster of the defendant’s friends and relatives, and another cluster of men with big cameras. They were television reporters. They stared at Tania’s loved ones, filmed them from afar, but did not interview them. Not. A Single. One.

On that night’s television news, one of the perpetrators’ mother appeared, interviewed on the street, just yards from us. She railed on and on, defending her daughter and what she called a “just a street fight.” The news spot gave her almost two minutes. They showed footage of Tania’s loved ones, but gave them no voice. One might think, watching the news, that Tania’s loved ones were unwilling to speak to the press.

But I was there, I saw it. Tania’s loved ones were not asked. The only people who interviewed Tania’s loved ones on camera that day were Pam and myself.

Ours is a long-term project, and that footage will take a year or more to reach the world. Meanwhile, the topic of race in Uruguay is so complex and maddening that it’s almost enough to break my heart. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve heard a Uruguayan say that there’s no racism here. Not to mention that there are no black people here, that “this is a nation of Europeans.” These are utter staples of the nation’s self-definition, cultural mantras, and the people who say them are often well-meaning. It’s true that this heartbreak is personal for me, as a Uruguayan married to a black woman, with multiracial kids for whom I wish the freedom to embrace both their blackness and their Uruguayan roots—but it should also be all of our heartbreak. Inequality hurts all of us, even if in different ways.

I want something different for this beautiful, idiosyncratic, beloved country. I want it to be able to burn down its racism and rise from its ashes. It’s possible that the messiness and outrageous denials and omissions in the dialogue over Tania’s case are part of that burning; I’d like to think they are. Backlash is often a sign that a movement is working. We’ve seen that in the States time and time again, with the feminist movement, gay rights, and struggles for racial justice. We are still living inside those backlashes in the U.S., of course, but they haven’t stopped the movement forward. On the contrary: as those retrograde voices become anomalies, they show us how far we’ve come.

Today, in Uruguay, there’s plenty of fuel for optimism. The radio waves and talk shows and supermarket aisles are full of conversations about race. Black and white Uruguayans alike tell me they haven’t seen anything close to such attention to the topic in their memory. While the voices of denial are there, it’s also true that many, many people are outraged about what happened to Tania and speaking out on behalf of increased awareness, respect, and racial justice.

And, in recent weeks, La Casa de la Cultura Afrouruguaya has been making waves with a highly public campaign to persuade the Real Academia Española to remove racist language from the dictionary (you can watch the inspiring and star-studded TV commercial above). The two news stories are separate, but they have fused in the public imagination, often mentioned in the same breath, stoking the same fire.

Uruguay, mon amour, keep moving forward. You are lovely beyond compare, a small gem hidden in the great pirate chest of the Americas. You have a singular rich history of progressive movements and ideas. You are odd, grumpy, large-hearted, unparalleled in the realms of soccer, mate, and uses for mayonnaise. And yet, like so many nations, you are also riddled with a racism that is a direct legacy of centuries of slave trade and colonialism and silences that, for all their power, can be broken, mon amour. Let’s break them together. Let’s set our sights on making a better, brighter Uruguay for everyone.

From Carolina De Robertis, Novelist and Co-Producer of AFRO URUGUAY: FORWARD TOGETHER

We are now off to put those funds to good use during our first nine-month
production trip to Uruguay, which begins in December 2012.

Stay connected and follow our progress on our production blog and our Facebook page.

Why uproot your entire family, wee ones included,  from a comfortable life and transplant them into an unknown environment, half a world away?

Because Carolina and I believe in this project.  We believe in the power of art and media to transform and uplift. And we believe in the people who have entrusted us with the task and honor of telling this story. In the words of Sergio Ortuño, master candombe drummer, community leader, and one of our main film subjects:

Cultural spaces, and above all the spaces that give rise to artistic production, are spaces of resistance, that is to say, spaces in which the essential values of African cultures in the Americas can be preserved, a space in which organizing forces can grow and strengthen. In general, the cultures that have developed in our societies have not allowed such spaces of self-representation, in political spheres as well social ones, and with regard to the generation of resources.

 It is in this spirit that we recognize the great importance of a documentary film made with the artistic capabilities that Ms. Harris brings, and that can reveal the social, cultural, and political realities of our community. It is essential that culture return to the hands of those who belong to it, as an instrument that allows them to develop the quality of life that is their birthright, evolve with integrity, benefit from services, and secure a positive outlook for their descendants.

As we head into the final hours of this campaign, and at the same time, prepare to embark on yet another incredible journey, we thank you deeply for sharing in this truth and vision.

¡Adelante!

Pam Harris, Producer/Director
AFRO URUGUAY: FORWARD TOGETHER

THANK YOU for all that you have done to get us this far. Wow. We are feeling exhilarated by the outpouring of support through the course of this fundraising drive and wanted to share some of the conversations that we have been having with you all.

Here are some of your questions and feedback on what you want to see in the finished film:

• What is the history of the black people of Uruguay – how has the culture evolved and how does it live today?

• I’d like to see more of the drumming and rhythms of candombe: the conversation between the three main drums is like what?

• Who created the first rhythms, what was the inspiration?

• What are Afro Uruguayan teens and young adults up to?

• How does candombe relate to hip hop

Let’s keep the momentum up and the conversation going.

Add your thoughts on what you would like to see in the film on our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/IrisFilms

Tweet to us @IrisDirect.

We are in the final stretch, and this is an all or nothing deal. We still have a long way to make it to $15,000 by December 5. We hope you will consider increasing your pledge by $5 by hitting the “Manage My Pledge” button on our project page. Every single dollar counts. Really.

Share the love by sending a link to our campaign page to friends: http://bit.ly/AfroU (Remember – your donation is tax deductible)

Thank you all so much.

We are truly humbled and excited about the road ahead.

We invite you to take a break from the madness of the season and indulge in one of our favorite pastimes – movie watching! As the makers of a film about Uruguay, we’d be remiss in our duties if we didn’t share with you some of our favorite films about Uruguay. Here they are in no particular order:

• El Baño del Papa (The Pope’s Toilet, 2007 – streaming on Netflix)
• La Vida Útil (A Useful Life, 2010)
• Whisky (2004)
• El Último Tren (The Last Train, 2002)

So stay home. Pop some popcorn, snuggle up, and enjoy!

Save the money you would have spent today at the mall and make a donation to a charity or favorite cause. Avoid holiday stress and steep into a culture on the other side of the equator – through the magic of cinema.

Wishing You all the Best This Holiday Season,
Pam and Carolina

AFRO URUGUAY: FORWARD TOGETHER

We know that there are a ton of good causes asking for your donation. Here are a few reasons why we think the project AFRO URUGUAY: FORWARD TOGETHER is worthy of support.

TOP TEN REASONS TO PLEDGE TO THIS FILM

10. All those contributions you made during the recent election season weren’t tax deductible and you need to make an end of the year donation.

9. In honor of Black Friday, you will be making a donation to a charity instead of spending on consumer goods.

8. You care about global culture and sharing new perspectives and information in engaging and entertaining ways.

7. You are ready to focus on something other than U.S. electoral politics.

6. You know that independent, not-for-profit media is an essential part of informing our communities and want to support that.

5. You are passionate about candombe, Uruguay, and Afro Uruguayan culture.

4. You’ve never heard of Uruguay before, let alone the fact that there are black people there, and you want to know more.

3. You know that in this era of media influence, getting the word out and sharing undertold stories through media is an essential element of social justice.

2. You know that documentaries move hearts and minds.

1. You think this film is an AWESOME idea!

We have just 20 days left in the campaign and need to raise another $12,495 to make it to our goal by December 5!

If you haven’t already done so – we’d be so grateful if you would make your pledge today.

Remember, with Kickstarter, it is all or nothing.

We have a long way to go, but we know that, together, we can do it.

If you have already made your own pledge, consider sending a link to the Kickstarter page to five friends: http://bit.ly/AfroU

And again – THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. Together we can continue to transform and uplift our communities!

You can keep tabs on our progress here:

And while we are so very grateful for the financial support, we are equally thrilled at how reaching out in the early stages of the project’s development has generated new friends, ideas and threads of discussion (more on that in a later post).

As the film progresses and we continue to reach out, we look forward to hearing from you on our facebook page, in the Twittersphere and elsewhere about ways that Afro Uruguay: Forward Together can serve you and the issues you care about.  ¡Adelante!