Antuca + Q&A with director Maria Barea
đź“… 14th April, 7:30pm
đź“Ť ECVS, 23a Fettes Row, Edinburgh, EH3 6RH
CinemaAttic is pleased to welcome Latin American feminist filmmaker MarĂa Barea for the showing of a newly restored edition of her influential film Antuca (1992). The director will be present thanks to Dr. Isabel SeguĂ, who teaches in the Department of Film Studies and is co-director of StAIGS. This Peruvian movie was created through the joint efforts of Warmi Cine y Video, a groundbreaking women’s film collective, and Iprofoth (Instituto de PromociĂłn y FormaciĂłn de Trabajadoras del Hogar), an organisation focused on supporting migrant and Indigenous women working as domestic workers.
Warmi Cine y Video, which is the first collective of women filmmakers from Peru, was established in Lima in 1989. Their latest project was released in 1998. The 1990s were a tumultuous time in Peru. A climate of oppression arose due to a dictatorship led by Alberto Fujimori. The political focus was on the violent internal conflict that lasted from 1980 to 2000. In this difficult environment—while acknowledging the issues at hand but aiming to bring attention to overlooked stories—this group, under the leadership of MarĂa Barea, succeeded in creating several films that introduced a new narrative style in Peru by showcasing the experiences of marginalised lower-class women.
The films produced by Warmi amplify the voices of people living in slums, Indigenous housekeepers, and young female gang members, highlighting their political engagement and personal experiences. Other filmmakers in Peru have also collaborated with marginalised communities in their filmmaking processes, such as those from the Cusco School, including Nora de Izcue, Federico GarcĂa, Pilar Roca, or the Chaski group. However, Warmi’s main focus was to shine a light on the empowerment of women and girls. Even today, the impact of the Warmi collective on Peruvian cinema has not been fully recognized historically; in fact, their contributions have often been ignored. Film historians in Peru have shown a degree of disdain towards MarĂa Barea and other important female figures like Marianne Eyde, reflecting the long-standing dominance of privileged men in Peru’s cultural landscape.
Read a full article on Warmi Cine y Video by Isabel Segui here
Antuca employs a docu-drama style, highlighting the experiences of its main character as she travels from Cajamarca to Lima and engages in political activism while facing job changes and challenges related to her identity.
The restoration of Antuca took place between 2023 and 2024 at the Elias Querejeta Zine Eskola (EQZE) located in San Sebastian as part of the initiative “Preservation of the films of MarĂa Barea and Warmi, First Women’s Collective in Peruvian Cinema. ” Dr. Isabel SeguĂ, who teaches in the Department of Film Studies and is co-director of StAIGS, is part of this team.
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