Istmo, a narrowing of land
Video, colour, sound, 23 min
2022, Mexico
Director, Camera and Editing
Mara Chavez
Camera and camera assistance
Raphael Reichl
Isthmus (a narrowing of land) explores the indigenous struggle against a new form of extractive colonialism in the south of Mexico.
Between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico lies the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Latin America's windiest region. It is largely inhabited by Zapotec and Ikoots people who draw their subsistence from the land and sea, which they view as both sacred and communal. Recently, this narrow strip of land has become a lucrative and dangerous battleground, as foreign investment pours into the region and thousands of wind turbines are constructed.
Mara Chavez is an Austrian-Mexican filmmaker. Her work combines research and storytelling to create visual narratives which explore the links between ecologies, extraction, memory and migration.
Mara ChavezVideostill
Donde vivo yo
Realities of life in Guatemala City
Book, 300 pages, 500 pcs., self-published, soft–cover, thread binding, 18 × 24 cm
2017
Authors
Evi Kostner, Fabian Kostner, Raphael Reichl
Photography
Ingo Kapelari, Raphael Reichl
Graphic Design
Raphael Reichl
Donde vivo yo is a social documentary and ethnographic photo book project that deals with the realities of life, especially of young people from Guatemala City.
It reports on political grievances, corruption, violence, poverty, courage, resistance and the human rights situation. Through the pictures and their related stories, we want to make people aware of the realities of life for young people living in Guatemala.
AmikaroCover
Ver, Oír Y Callar
See, Hear & Remain Silent
Short documentary
Video, 7 min
2017, Guatemala
Directing
Fabian Kostner, Raphael Reichl
Camera, Sound
Raphael Reichl
Editing
Raphael Reichl
Production
Amikaro
La Limonada is one of the oldest settlements in Guatemala City. Other marginal settlements were built later, especially after the 1976 earthquake. Still others during the worst years of the civil war. From the 1980s onwards, the urban population grew rapidly and unplanned. The result was the creation of countless poor settlements around the city. Don Chepe is a líder comunitario of the neighbourhood La Limonada.Líderes comunitarios are people who hold a special position of authority in marginal neighborhoods. His life marked him and today he is seriously ill. Líderes comunitarios are people who occupy a special position of authority in marginal neighbourhoods. He is marked by life and visibly seriously ill.
AmikaroVideostill, Shortdocumentary