In April, Oxford University Press released Frames of Resistance: The Cinemas of Abya Yala, authored by Amalia Córdova, the supervisory museum curator, curator of world cultures at the Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage and co-director of the Mother Tongue Film Festival. The term “Abya Yala” is an Indigenous Kuna-language phrase used to refer to Latin America and the Americas more broadly.
This volume represents the culmination of Córdova’s decade of research and experience in Indigenous cinema within the region. It explores the history and evolution of Indigenous filmmaking and offers guidance on engaging with related filmmakers, creators, and their work.
“The inspiration of this book came from my recognition that, as the world was beginning to disseminate and celebrate film and art of Indigenous communities, almost none of that was coming from the ground of Latin America,” Córdova says. “The lack of recognition was not due to a lack of cinematic achievement; it was due to global cinema not looking at or understanding the drivers behind the filmmaking happening in these communities.”
Córdova joined the Center in 2016 and serves as the chair of cultural research and education. She began her career at the Smithsonian in 2001, as a Latin American specialist for the Film + Video Center of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian in New York City. She earned a PhD in cinema studies from New York University, where she has also taught courses on Indigenous film. This is her first book as a sole author.
Frames of Resistance serves as a resource for understanding the achievements of Latin American Indigenous cinema, appreciating its depth, and elevating its contributions. The volume is designed for any reader interested in Latin American studies and cinema, even if they lack a background in these areas. Through a rich collection of first-person primary resources, some translated into English for the first time, the volume guides readers to understanding Indigenous filmmaking within the context of Latin American history and its future within global cinema.
“This book was written to bridge gaps, connect communities, and assert: ‘We are here,’” Córdova says. “The Indigenous peoples of Abya Yala are not new to this space. They offer contributions to cinema that are complex, remarkable, and beautiful. Contemporary Latin American cinema is well-known and well-respected. Once its Indigenous counterpart gains similar global access, I hope it will be, too.”
Frames of Resistance is available in hardcover and e-book formats, and it can be accessed through subscribing libraries. To learn more about Córdova’s work in Indigenous media, explore the Mother Tongue Film Festival, an annual event that celebrates cultural and linguistic diversity by showcasing films and filmmakers from around the world, and its companion initiative, Mother Tongue Media.
For media inquiries, please email folklife@si.edu.
