Author: Fiorella Pomarino Dextre

For the Final Project I want to talk about sustainability of culture. I am trying to think what medium should be better for that. I think I might do a film series about it. The 3 shorts films that I already know I want to do are: 1. fiction short film about the festival Takanakuy; a docu short film about identity of Latin Peruvians living in London and a film based in the street markets of Per (which i have always loved). These films will be max 5 min.

These are my fav ones.

Thats how I am calling them now. I look up in my phone and laptop and I have a lot of pictures from Peru, but I also asked my friends and I found the pictures that are below. My friend Melissa went a few years ago to film a short film in Chumbivilca, a small town in Cusco. She showed me these pictures and got mi attention. After the pictures I did a little bit of research about the festival.

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This is the festival of Takanakuy (in Spanish it means the festival hitting each other).

Dress:
There are five types of traditional ‘characters’ portrayed during the ceremony that have different roles based on Andean cultural symbols. The majority of the dress is based on traditional horse-riding gear and brightly colored Peruvian ski masks, which are characteristic of the specific regional area. The ski masks are not all the same: they have different colors, different designs, and different textile patterns to make money.

The Characters:

1. Majenos are the most basic level of dress adorning the traditional horse riding gear. A majeta is a person who lives near the Majes River in the Andes and the attire of this character is based on that. Wool horse-riding pants, a leather cap, a harrington-like traditional Peruvian jacket, hollowed out bull’s horn for the alcohol. The specific Peruvian ski mask is called uyach’ullu, which has abstract symbolic associations and displays four colors (red, green, yellow, and white) which are supposed to represent the four quadrants of the universe. The main purpose of the ski mask however is to conceal the identity of the fighters to prevent the tensions and animosities lingering into the next year
2. Quarawatanna: Majeta dress with the addition of a leather biker jacket, long leather cowboy chaps, and either a dead bird or a deer skull on top of the head. The majority of the young individuals in the indigenous communities pick this type of fighter due to its intimidation factor
3. Negro: Aspects of this dress attempt to portray a slave master during the colonial periods; for example, knee-high leather boots, fancy worsted pants, a nice shirt and waistcoat, a silk embroidered cape in pink or baby blue, and a cardboard crown with shiny wrapping paper on the sides and a star at the top. Then the character has to dance in circles like a rooster, which is the character’s associated spirit animal. This type of outfit was traditionally reserved for the wealthy men in town and served in contrast to the majeno’s drunk archetype. Over time, the character became less the rich man’s costume than the top fighters’
4. Langos: The peruvian word langos translates to locust, and this costume is made to resemble one. The outfit is made of shiny material, and often the wearer holds a dead bird to represent the death that locusts caused in the area in the 1940
5. Q’ara Gallo: This specific fighter wears no distinct type of dress attributed to Andean culture but still takes part in the procession but not the ceremonious fighting

Today I got my tutorial and I changed my mind about everything. I was doing these tests because of one of the tutorials Vicky and I had last unit. I wanted to make sure I wanted to talk about “naturalism in fashion” that now I know is sustainability in culture. I was thinking about it and I came with this:

I dont want to own a website. I love filming. I love creating content. I love doing sets and styling. I love exhibits and installations. I studied social development communications and I think it might be my foundation for what I like today. I used to travel with my parents by car through Peru. I remember the roads, the landscapes, how lucky I was and how others werent (economic speaking), but still they were full of happiness and hope. I wanted to be their voice in a way. I just realize I can be that voice by doing this.

Project :

Change the perception of Peruvian design = textiles in the west (capitals of fashion)

Phase 1 :
– Research Peruvian Designer doing Contemporary designs
– Create a Data
– Contact Designers
– Interview Designers
– Make a film in black and white with them based in the info collected. (interviews)
– Photograph their designs (mixing all -> creating new concepts) + small videos
– Gallery of Heritage (create an archive from different persons + mine, each photo will be credit)

Phase 2:
– Make a film (educating, changing the perception, celebrating contemporary peruvian design with heritage)
– 15/20 minutes duration -> big challenge

Phase 3:
– Showcase of the research -> visual
– Docu film (interview)
– Gallery of heritage
– Gallery of photographs of designers + small videos
– Film “The big one”

Phase 4:
– The book (hahah could happened) + VR when passing through some pictures or stills of the film.

How to add VR to the exhibit?

How to promote the exhibit?
– Social Media (IG, Facebook, create a filter -> you can change landscapes from Peru and “be” in those places)
– Magazines -> Interviews
– Film Festivals

* All the content created should be created by Peruvians in its majority (85%/ 15% other nationalities -> photographers, muah, videographers)

*All the creative direction + sets + styling is by me -> this will help me to upgrade my portfolio

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I was contacted last Friday night by a Designer doing her final project in MA Knitwear. I liked the clothing so I said yes. I created all the concept + set + styling. This is a little bit of the presentation with the props and things that I sourced today. At the end we couldnt do the test yesterday because the 2 models canceled me. Anyways something goof come from it.

While sourcing shoes for this designer, I contacted a girl from MA Footwear of LCF that I met in the networking thing of CU. She lend me a pair fo shoes and we were talking and she said that she wanted to make her final project with me. So another good thing
came from this haha. I only wish next time someone could pay me please. Here is the presentation. I think Mei (the designer) is really happy with the work. 

 

The first time I saw Heavenly Creatures (The movie) I thought it was the best movie ever and until today I can say it is my favorite movie of all times. I wanted to create an editorial based in that movie. The aesthetic of it is different of the things that I normally do, so I thought of going out of my comfort zone. The weather is horrible so we are going to make like a “test” on Monday to see how it goes in studio. I need to make some changes and then in a few months I will do it properly with also a proper film. I might do this in Madrid in a place that I already know. I have a Peruvian friend living in Madrid she is a very talented photographer who I love to work with. Also my boyfriend will be here for 3 weeks and we want to film something. This might be it.

Last Friday I did the photoshoot of my idea. I was trying to narrow down a subject instead of making research about something broad. Turns out it´s a great idea. Everyone understood the idea, the starting point, the outcomes I wanted. It was a good day. We only used natural light with a Mamiya and a Bronika cameras. I used only latin based brands based in London and Paris. I ask for help so I wasn´t alone. Everyone got the presentation with the starting point until what outcomes I wanted to achieve.

In this particular scenario I got my inspiration from the Latin developing aesthetic specially in just two things: the house material some people use and plastic bottles with flowers.

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