Preserving Legacy: The Quest for Peru's Film Pioneer, Nora de Izcu

Show notes

In this What’s Up With Docs episode, Toni Bell speaks with the filmmaking team behind Searching for Nora: Claudia Chavez and Christine Mladic Janney. Searching for Nora celebrates the life and artistry of Nora de Izcue, the first Peruvian filmmaker to gain international acclaim and a passionate advocate for social justice and cultural preservation. The conversation explores Claudia’s experience at the Escuela Internacional de Cine y TV in Cuba—a film school co-founded by Nora and novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez—Christine’s connections to Peru and her advocacy for Quechua-speaking communities. They discuss their collaborative work on Searching for Nora, which follows their quest to locate original prints of Nora’s seminal film, “Runan Caycu”.

Their journey touches on the vital role of film archives, the significance of who holds them, and the broader challenges of being a documentary filmmaker and a mother. They also reflect on the past and present state of filmmaking in Peru, particularly in light of recent attacks on the National Film Law, which led to nationwide work stoppages and strikes.

Length: 72:32 Recorded on October 22, 2024

Moderator: Toni Bell Music Composer: Marcus Lori Sound Design: Oras Alchukur Editor and Producer: Anne Rethfeldt

The DOK Industry Podcast 2024 is realised in partnership with POC2 Programmers of Colour Collective and What’s Up With Docs Podcast, and supported by Docs-in-Orbit and film.macht.kritisch - Der Podcast über das andere Kino.

You can find out more about our collaborators here.