Winners
Winner 2008
Diana Cuellar
Diana Cuellar, a 39 year-old filmmaker from Colombia, received a $5,000 award for her project entitled “Mama Chocó”
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
Chocó is one of the worlds most abundant regions for water and natural resources. And Paulina is as fertile as the land of her birth. This mother of 26, midwife, and artist is filled with boundless joy and a love of life.
One day a bomb explodes, forcing her to abandon her house and ancestral land. She leaves along with family members and neighbours. Like thousands of other displaced persons, she walks for months to reach Cali, Colombias third largest city, where she struggles to survive in a flimsy shanty made of wood, plastic sheeting and mud. She shares this fate with millions of displaced people who once fished, raised livestock and farmed for a livelihood, but who cant find work in the city.
Through her songs, Paulina evokes her village of Bojaya and takes us on an imaginary journey across this bountiful region now destroyed by civil war. Her music echoes the voices of those who have remained behind. The film chronicles the pain of exile and the struggle to live in dignity in a place Paulina would finally be able to call Home.
I had written the story I wanted to tell in images and sound. I needed to find the money to make this project a reality. While surfing the net, I discovered the Alter-Ciné Foundation. I read its objectives and its documentary vision statement and I identified with it. I felt here was someone who could understand my ideas, and that’s exactly what transpired.
From that moment on, Alter-Ciné became an unconditional ally of my documentary and my work as a filmmaker. The support was not merely financial, but moral and professional as well. In an unexpected manner, my film plot took an unpredictable twist that had not been part of the original written treatment. That is where Alter-Cine’s support became vital, providing clarification and encouragement to forge ahead.
Today “Mamá Chocó” exists and Columbians have been able to discover a national reality that had been hidden from view. The film was well received at the Festival Atlantidoc in Uruguay, where it won Best Latin-American Documentary. This would never have been possible if the Alter-Ciné Foundation hadn’t laid the cornerstone, giving me the impetus to continue and to truly embrace the profession of documentary filmmaker.
– Diana Cuellar