hello + thanks + wow, what a year

It’s been exactly one year since we landed in Uruguay, two small kids in tow, ready to launch the documentary AFRO URUGUAY: FORWARD TOGETHER with the generous support of 145 incredible Kickstarter backers, generous individual donors, and a Fulbright Fellowship.

What an incredible year it’s been since then. We’ve shot footage of everything from racial justice protests to intimate interviews to dancing and drumming on the streets. We’ve presented about our project, by invitation, in venues ranging from a rural community center in northern Uruguay to a range of television and radio shows to Montevideo’s City Hall. Above all, we’ve listened to and explored people’s stories as they’ve unfolded on the ground here in Uruguay. You can get a small taste of these journeys in this slideshow we posted earlier this year:

December 19, 2012
December 19, 2012

Thousands gathered in the heart of Montevideo to affirm the human rights of all and to protest the racially charged beating of a woman of African descent in Uruguay five days earlier. According to many, it was the largest racial justice protest in modern memory.

Affirmation
Affirmation

One of the thousands of protestors on the streets of Montevideo to say no to racism and “I love my kinky hair! Long live people of African descent!”

Elizabeth Suárez
Elizabeth Suárez

Mate in hand, outside of the Casa de la Cultura Afrouruguaya, Elizabeth Suárez prepares to meet up with family and friends in support of Tania Ramírez, an Afro Uruguayan activist who was preparing to testify before a judge in a case of racial violence that has sparked an intense debate in Uruguay.

Sergio Ortuño
Sergio Ortuño

Prepping for a day´s shoot. Producer/Director Pam Harris mics up Sergio Ortuño, a master candombe teacher and the founder of Triangulación Kultural. The organization is using candombe to connect and engage marginalized communities in Parisian suburbs and rural Uruguay.

Canelones, Uruguay
Canelones, Uruguay

Producer Carolina De Robertis leads an interview with Sergio Ortuño at his home in Canelones, just outside of Montevideo.

In the field: Canelones
In the field: Canelones

Live action shooting with Sergio Ortuño and Manu Brun on the streets of Canelones.

Canelones
Canelones

Producers Pamela Harris and Carolina De Robertis prepare for an interview in Canelones, Uruguay with Emmanuel (Manu) Brun, the coordinator of Triangulación Kultural in France.  You can see a video of him here on Youtube promoting a festival coming up in July 2013 in Paris.

 

 

Ramón Farías: Two Generations
Ramón Farías: Two Generations

The production team was hosted in Melo, a small town near the border with Brazil, by Ramón Farías Sr. (left) and Ramón Farías Jr. (right) to Melo. We were able to take part in many wonderful conversations in community spaces and private homes alike.

Babe in Arms
Babe in Arms

Ramón Farías as an infant in the arms of his mother, who was born into slavery in Brazil. After slavery ended in Brazil in 1888, she crossed the border into Uruguay to start a new life and family. Señor Farías was generous in sharing memories and photos from his personal collection with our crew.

Drums at The Fire: Carnival Season
Drums at The Fire: Carnival Season

A street fire fed by cardboard and wood scraps warms and prepares the skins of  candombe drums in preparation for a comparsa rehearsal on the streets of Barrio Sur in Montevideo.

Atlántida Llamadas
Atlántida Llamadas

Dancer Johanna Ba, a native of France, dances with a racially mixed comparsa in the llamadas in Atlántida, a small costal town northeast of Montevideo. Each comparsa (group in the llamadas) features flag bearers, dancers, and scores of candombe drummers. The llamadas (the calls) were traditionally a part of urban culture and drum contingents used their powerful sound to call each other across city blocks.

We’re thrilled to say that, after casting a wide net, we’ve honed in on a single story, one that offers a very personal portrait of life in a historic neighborhood, the lingering effects of the displacement suffered by Afro Uruguayans under the dictatorship, the realities of everyday racism, courage in the face of startling violence, an extraordinary friendship, an unexpected personal transformation, and the abiding power of activism.

It’s been a profoundly transformative year in this nation of three million people. Just last week, Uruguay entered the global spotlight when it became the first country in the world to legalize the sale and cultivation of marijuana, with an eye toward combating the social violence of the drug trade. Yes, that’s big news. But, this year, Uruguay also upheld it’s legal abortion law, legalized gay marriage, and, most significantly to our project, passed landmark affirmative action legislation to address the racial inequity still faced by Afro Uruguayans.

In other words, 2013 has been a whirlwind. We’re on fire and full of hope.

On that note, we’ve decided to stay on here for six more months, past the completion of Pamela’s Fulbright Fellowship. This means that, if you’ve been promised a T-shirt, it won’t come till late 2014. We’re sorry about that – really! – but also hope you’ll agree that the wait is worth our being able to thoroughly wrap production and move into the editing phase with the footage and access we need to make the best film we possibly can — a film worthy of the trust that’s been placed in us by the community here…and by you.

To all those who have given – whether funds or words of encouragement – again, with all our hearts, THANK YOU. For supporting us, for standing with us, for saying yes to the voices of Afro Uruguay. This project continues to be an all-volunteer, grassroots effort. And it simply would not be happening without you.

We wish you a joyous holiday, and a phenomenal year to come.

P.S. If you should find yourself moved to make a new or additional tax-deductible donation to our project, however small, you can do so here on the Iris Films website at http://www.irisfilms.org/donate/. As we said, this is still an all-volunteer, grassroots project, and every dollar absolutely counts. Thanks and love!

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