Program designed by Perla Montelongo and Roberto Cárdenas.
Marchita -Short Film
"Marchita" is a short film about conflicts and alternative paths. It revolves around the neighborhood where our students live.
Over three months, we didn't just create a film; the goal was to learn about conflict transformation. We explored camera angles while understanding diverse conflict viewpoints, practiced scriptwriting through active listening, and explored conflict transformation through acting.
This program drew inspiration from artist Stine Marie Jacobsen's "Direct Approach" project, which we re-designed and adapted to our context and aspirations. It all started with the participants' interest in filmmaking and our deep concern for the ongoing violence in Ciudad Juárez.
Check the details below, we worked a whole year designing the program!
Based on Stine Marie Jacobsen's 'Direct Approach' book, we began by describing in pairs, the most violent film scenes we had ever watched.
Each person built a LEGO model of their partner's narration, to make sure they listened carefully and understood each other (active listening exercise, here)
All of this took place in the 'campfire position,' a format we often use at House of Inventions to create a relaxed and safe atmosphere for open conversations.
As the basis for our short film, we picked the scene that most closely mirrored the violence in Ciudad Juárez.
Next comes the script writting. How do we do it between 10 people? With role-games and post-its!
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Reading the final script
We learned about different roles in filmmaking (director, producer, scriptwriter, etc.) while also learning how to identify emotions and needs.
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Now it's time to learn the different camera angles and shots...
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while reflecting on how conflicts can be viewed from various perspectives.
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Inspired by 'Forum Theater', we used acting to create an alternative version of our violent scene, aiming to resolve the conflict in new ways.
We would recreate the scene, freeze it, and find solutions for each step of the conflict.
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Next step: designing the scenography. And how did we do it? We created a game called 'Mediums and Writers'
The medium invokes the souls of the protagonists of the film. The possessed person then describes what the soul sees and feels in the other dimension, while the writers take notes.
Finally, we ask the soul to leave our friend's body (no exorcist required).
Final weeks: learning how to use sound equipment.
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Getting clothes and costumes at Gratis Tienda (Free shop) and second hand markets. Gracias Gratis Tienda!
The day that everyone was waiting for..
Everyone in their assigned roles: actors and actresses, film crew, sound crew, continuity, production, directors, makeup, etc.
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The crew giving their best
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Time to wrap-it up!
A few weeks later.... the premiere!!
The premiere was at Cine Universitario in Centro Cultural de las Fronteras, Cd Juárez. Thank you CCF!
Excitement, nervousness, pride, and a sense of belonging filled our hearts.
Wanna see the shortfilm? please do so! You will find it here: https://vimeo.com/796270327/4003d12a66
This proyect was funded by Node Center for Curatorial Studies - Berlin, and with the kind support of Carolina Rosas Heimpel, Fausto Gómez Tuena, Alpha Helena Escobedo, Prepratoria Altavista, León de la Rosa, Jerry Saenz, RCA Film Factory, Pablo Montalvo, Familia Muñoz Salas.