A bus halts at a crowded bus station in Buenos Aires. Francisco and 13 other Wichi leaders steps out of the bus and looks curiously around; many of them have never been out of their village prior to this trip. Now they have come to the 8th largest city in the world to fight the national government.
 The Art of Being Wichi is a 70-minute documentary on the Wichi Indians and their fight for the survival of their culture, and for their land. In the film we meet Chief Pascal Perez and his family in the Northern Province of Salta, Argentina, and Wichi leader Francisco Perez. They both knows that if their traditional way of life is going to have any chance of surviving, they need to regain the control of their land – a land that is already theirs according to international treaties and conventions. We follow them in their struggle against authorities, drug smugglers and the oil industry, corrupt politicians and cattle owners.
This story is told through the Western European eyes of a man who wasn’t in a hurry. Travelling with only a translator, Magne Sleire visits the Wichi Indians five times over a period of three years. With his own words and with the compelling images captured through his camera lens, the award-winning Norwegian filmmaker tells us about his experiences. The result is a film that shows not only the plight of an indigenous people, but also the beauty of their way of life.
It’s dark when Magne approaches a Wichi village for the first time. He has just completed a nine-hour drive from Salta, the nearest city, in an old car on dirt roads… Suddenly three men block the road, demanding money to allow the car to pass. Hidden from view, Magne’s camera captures the situation. As the men pull knives, we can only hear the fading sound of angry voices as the car speeds away in reverse. The next day Magne and his travelling companions learn that not long ago a Swedish journalist was brutally murdered in that same area.
Soon after arriving in the village, we realize how dependent the Wichi are on the forest that surrounds them, and the river that runs through their territory. This is where they find their food and the raw materials for everything they make. The Art of Being Wichi invites viewers to join the Wichi leader Pascal and other men from his village as they fish in the Pilcomoyo River. While the men are out fishing and hunting, or gathering honey, Wichi women gather fruit in the forests nearby, where they always bringing their children along. At the end of the day, the families cook the catch of the day, and eat together.
Gradually we are struck by the calm tempo of everything the Wichi do. There is never any hurry, stress or argument. But we also realize that The Art of Being Wichi is threatened by outside forces.
The Wichi are resisting the Argentinean Government’s development plans for their land, and they have never been asked about their own view. A highway is being constructed from the Atlantic Ocean in the East to the Pacific Ocean in the West. This heavily trafficked road will, if completed as planned, pass straight through the heart of the Wichi peoples’ land. It does not seem to matter that these plans violate international treaties that grant the indigenous Wichi right to decide over their own land. For a whole decade, the Wichi have been fighting to stop this invasive road project. In 1996 they occupied a bridge that would link this road with Bolivia.
Documentaries from South America are rarely seen in the rest of the world. This helps explain why The Art of Being Wichi has received so much attention in Argentina – even before it is released. Politicians and local Argentinean cattle owners feel threatened by the documentary. Magne Sleire has been given clear warning that if the film is released, he will not be safe should he decide to return to the area. The Wichi Indians, however, look upon Magne and the film as a godsend. Humanitarian organizations that support the Wichi cause have already taken rough cuts of the film to meetings with politicians – to show them reality. This has triggered meetings high up in the political hierarchy.
In November 2005 the Wichi leaders managed to arrange a meeting with the President of Argentina, Nestor Kirchner, to discuss the issues of land ownership. For 15 years they have been fighting to have their rights respected. Assisted by humanitarian organizations, 15 Wichi leaders (many of whom had never left Wichi territory prior to this) travelled all the way to Buenos Aires for this amazing opportunity – a chance to make a difference for their people. For three days they were left waiting in the hallway outside the President’s office, and outside Parliament, before returning home in despair, empty-handed. No meeting took place…
But the Wichi people are not giving up. This time, in May 2006, the 13 Wichi Indians who just arrived in Buenos Aires are on their say to attend a press conference with Nobel Peace Prize winner of 1980 Perez Esquivel. He is one of many respected individuals who have expressed interest and concern in the Wichi and their fight for their land and culture. This time the Wichi people demands to be heard.
The film
Magne narrates us through his four trips to Wichi village and the final trip with the 13 Wichi leaders to Buenos Aires. We clearly see the rapid changes that have taken place in Wichi life and culture in just these three years. Pascal, one of the key Wichi personalities in the film, presents himself as a proud Native American chief the first time Magne visits. Three years later, he has cut off his long, black hair and resigned his Chieftainship due to too much pressure.
The lives of the Wichi are traditionally closely related to nature and what it has to offer, and in fact the main focus of the film is the beauty of their way of life shown in a tranquil and calm mode. Magne Sleire has long experience as a nature photographer. In his own unique way, he unites images of people and animals, and the natural scenery that surrounds us, into moving imagery. The contrasting images of the opposing elements and the busy city life of Buenos Aires will furthermore emphasise the wonder of the Wichi way of life, which now is going down with their land.
The Art of Being Wichi is a universal story not only about the Wichi Indians, but about indigenous peoples around the globe fighting for their rights in a too rapidly changing world. It is a story that needs to be told –a story that can make a change.
Foto: Magne Helge Sleire
|
