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Ecuador's first movie produced almost completely in Kichwa with Indigenous artists hit theaters Friday, telling the story of campesinos defending their land.
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The movie, “Killa: The Road to Resistance,” portrays injustices suffered by those who oppose an illegal occupation of their ancestral territories by a mining company and the fight to reclaim the community's natural resources.
Production for Killa, which means "moon" in Kichwa, began in 2012 and was filmed in the Andean province of Imbabura, north of the capital city of Quito.
"The main idea is to denounce the authoritarian acts when companies find mines or oil in Indigenous communities and they are not consulted for their exploitation," said the Indigenous director Alberto Muenala.
Muenala said he expects the project to inspire a new generation of producers from the different ancestral communities and nationalities of Ecuador with the intent of providing more funding for similar film projects underway.
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Killa reflects upon topics like Indigenous people's worldview and their relationship with nature, the mixture of Indigenous settlers and whites after the colonial period and other subjects that are part of their everyday life.
The film also shows the love story between an Indigenous photographer and his mestizo girlfriend, the daughter of a prominent official who authorized the concession for the entry of the mining company. The man will need to decide if he delivers compromising photographs that could benefit the community but destroy his relationship.
After its debut in Ecuador, it will be presented in different international film festivals. The film required a budget of US$170,000 and had the support of the Ministry of Culture and the National Cinematography Council.
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