Blog

News, Filmmaker Interviews

DER Podcast: Jason Burlage on MI CHACRA

Jason Burlage PodcastWhen I started, it seems like I should have thought about this, but I didn’t really think about the universality of that story — of Feliciano’s desire to leave the village and move to the city. But, during the making of it, I became more aware of how that story is happening everywhere… And, even at some point in the making of the film, I realized it was kind of my story, too, because I grew up in a town of a thousand people and never considered staying there. I can’t remember a time in my life when I thought, “Well, this is where I will live.” There was always something better. — Jason Burlage

When I was at Hot Docs last month, amidst all the chaos and excitement, I ran into DER filmmaker Jason Burlage. Jason directed Mi Chacra, a gem of a film that explores rural Peruvian life through the story of Feliciano, a Quechuan farmer. The film is beautiful and sensitive by any and all counts, but I particularly like how it offers a counter-point to typical narratives of tourism which begin with the cross-cultural encounter. It is only as the the film’s story progresses through the seasons — and we come to understand Feliciano’s history and his hopes for a better life for his son — that we learn Feliciano also works as a porter on the Inca Trail. Listen to the podcast to learn how Feliciano came to be the central character in Jason’s film — through equal parts hard work and good luck.

— Alice Apley

Download the transcript (PDF)


RELATED POSTS

Itam Hakim Hopiit - Victor Masayesva, Jr. (1984)
News

Press Release: ITAM HAKIM HOPIIT Added to the National Film Registry

DER is proud to announce the induction of Victor Masayesva, Jr.’s Itam Hakim Hopiit into the National Film Registry. Each year, the Library of Congress (LOC) selects 25 films deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”.

Read More

My Rembetika Blues DER PODCAST
Filmmaker Interviews

DER Podcast: Mary Zournazi on MY REMBETIKA BLUES

We recently sat down with filmmaker Mary Zournazi to discuss her new film My Rembetika Blues. Rembetika music, or the Greek blues, is a music born of exile and the streets, developing its roots from the mass migration of people in the early twentieth century.

Read More