I don't usually do this but since it is Woman's Day with lot of trends, wishes, campaigns everywhere. So naturally the suggestion will be to get on the train with the internet herd or watch a tearjerker feminist movie from the top shelf. Anyway, nothing against the hashtag bandwagon, I'm so glad that women-led films are finally getting the recognition they deserve in various film festivals. I put up a list of my favourite female directors and shortlisted Nina Hedenius, Shirley Clarke, Lana Gogoberidze, Tatiana Huezo, Laila Pakalnina, Cauleen Smith, Yvonne Rainer, Kira Kovalenko, Attiyat Al-Abnudi, Amy Halpern, Naoko Ogigami, Lois Weber, Sumiko Haneda, Farida Pacha, Jessica Woodworth, Binka Zhelyazkova, Xhanfize Keko, Ekta Mittal, Lisa Hammer, Helma Sanders-Brahm, Marilou Diaz-Abaya, Anne Claire Poirier, Jocelyne Saab, Dominique Cabrera, Svetlana Baskova, Sandra Lahire, Rose Lowder, Ildikó Enyedi, Moufida Tlatli, Tahmineh Milani, Dorota Kedzierzawska, Pia Frankenberg, Ana Mendieta, Jacqueline Veuve , Suzanne Osten, Mijke de Jong, Byambasuren Davaa, Patricia Rozema, Zeinabu irene Davis, Chick Strand, Binka Zhelyazkova, Christine Carrière, Maryam Tafakory, Virpi Suutari, Betzy Bromberg, Ivanka Grubcheva, Anne Rees-Mogg, Ursula Reuter Christiansen, Nina Menkes, Regina Pessoa, Anka Schmid, Fien Troch, Lisl Ponger, Jeanine Meerapfel, Meiko Kaji films, Maria Klonaris and Katerina Thomadaki. Surprisingly, i can say that i have seen atleast one title from the filmography of these directors over the last few years.
So, the last option here and I finally decided to revisit Marta Rodriguéz works as she is an obscure filmmaker who sailed under the radar whilst remain in the list of niche arthouse cinephiles. She is a pioneer of the Third Cinema, a treasure of New Latin American movies along with her husband Jorge Silva. One of my favourite artistic duo followed by Hélène Cattet-Bruno Forzani, Franciszka and Stefan Themerson, Werner Nekes & Dore O, Marie Clémence Andriamonta- Cesar Paes, Yervant Gianikian-Angela Ricci Lucchi, Arthur and Corinne Cantrill, Alan and Joan Root, Joseph Winter-Vanessa Winter, Straub-Huillet and Jimmy Chin & Elizabeth-Chai Vasarhelyi . I'd say Marta Rodriguéz, a student of Jean Rouch, is one of the best living filmmakers and an activist with Marxist anthro-documentaries as a form of political education. I don't want to go into the scathing critique approach that is present in almost all her works but want to state that she has a very unique vision that i get blown away by the filmmaking style. It's so hard to make something that visceral considering the Intimate portrait of indigenous people but also have it be compelling like a visual odyssey.
In Our Voice of the Earth, Memory and the Future (Nuestra voz de tierra, memoria y futuro), this documentary records the struggle of Cauca Regional Indigenous Council (CRIC), an indigenous community in Columbia where the people fight to preserve their cultures and languages and reclaim their lands, which over time was lost to the advancement of civilization. It also captures the reality of Land owners treating the peasants very badly. The mindset of the people to reclaim land is not going the legal way or confronting the bishop which is like fighting half the government. They organise, calculate their plan on blackboards as the landowners strike a deal with the devil on top of mountains, highlands and make a wish. This sequence is so hypnotic with terrific score as devil appears in form of foreigners and smell of sulphur, who appear and vanish suddenly. There is so much more in the runtime that almost hides its multi-layered themes and subtextual meanings behind the trance inducing cinematography. Hope I own that diablo ring someday or shoot a sequence of the cow like the way it's shot in this documentary, so hypnotic and there is nothing to criticize in this gem, in my opinion. Let me remind that this is not a 'typical' documentary with all the traditional genre troupes, it will have divided opinions, for sure. Regardless, this is a work that is attention-demanding and becomes interesting as the minutes go by. I also recommend Chircales (1972) and Love, Women and Flowers (1988). There will be a small audience for Marta Rodríguez, i'm sure her works will spawn future women filmmakers imaginations and will create an impact on the next generation.
