RAI Film Webinar
A VIRTUAL SEMINAR BY THE ROYAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL INSTITUTE
Tuesday 19 October 2021 at 4-6pm (BST)
Event takes place on Zoom. Please register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZMrcuGuqzIuG9BYixLTZijJ7ivmKEHga1U0
Uma: A Water Crisis in Bolivia:
a conversation with filmmaker, Ana Llacer, and Dr Esther Balboa, an Aymara and Quechua intellectual from Bolivia
The event is both a warm-up for the upcoming RAI Anthropology and Conservation Virtual Conference from 25-29 October 2021 and launch event for the film as a new listing for RAI Film distribution now available for DVD and digital sales.
Uma: A Water Crisis in Bolivia (2020 / 78 mins) by Ana Llacer (Producer & Director) tells the story of three Andean indigenous communities in the highlands of Bolivia who are fighting to protect their water from diversion and contamination amid a national water crisis. The government has consistently supported the expansion of mining, granting miners unrestricted water access and failing to effectively enforce its environmental laws. UMA, the Aymara word for water, takes us on a journey from the tropical Andean glaciers and the highest navigable lake in the world to the mines of Oruro, and the vanished Lake Poopo. It is a women’s story of displacement, resistance, and struggle for environmental justice.
We are pleased to welcome the filmmaker and activist to introduce the film through clips and discuss the ongoing efforts of local communities to organise grassroots efforts to hold mining companies and government officials accountable, demanding compensation and work to protect their water resources.
NOTE: The film will be available to watch online from 20 October to 4 November for those who have registered for the RAI Anthropology and Conservation Virtual Conference: https://www.therai.org.uk/conferences/anthropology-and-conservation/film
Registration for the conference can be found here https://therai.org.uk/conferences/anthropology-and-conservation/registration
Bio
Ana Llacer is a Spanish journalist and independent documentary filmmaker based in New York City. She is particularly interested in stories with a social focus rooted in the vindication of human rights and environmental justice. Her recent works include the short films NO FATE (2015) and ROYALTY (2020), the latter included in the project “Disappearing” by Grant Cutler, and the documentary UMA: A WATER CRISIS IN BOLIVIA, winner of the Best Documentary Feature Award at the Red Nation International Film Festival and the Best Indigenous Film Award at the Wildlife Conservation Film Festival. She is currently developing the script of her second feature-length film.
Dr Ester Balboa, PhD in Human and Biological Sciences from the University of Ulm, Germany. Raised along the shores of Lake Titicaca and later moved to city of Cochabamba for education. She has worked as a university professor, administrator and served as the Bolivian Vice Minister of Education.