Interview with Teófila Palafox, ikoods filmmaker and pioneer of indigenous media in Mexico

Abstract

Regarded as the first indigenous ikoods women filmmaker in Mexico, Teófila Palafox gained visibility at national and international scale because of her engagement into Primer Taller de Cine Indígena (First Indigenous Filmmaking Workshop) on San Mateo del Mar, Oaxaca. She directed two films in her career, as a result of different didactic experiences. Unlike her first work -–Leaw amangoch tinden nop ikoods (The life of an ikoods family, 1987), filmed on Super-8—, Ollas de San Marcos (San Marcos' cooking pots, 1992) was recorded on video. In this interview, Palafox relates her experience as a member of Audiovisual Media Transfer for Indigenous Organizations and Communities Project, sponsored by National Indigenous Institute (Instituto Nacional Indigenista), between 1989 and 1994, which consisted in video technology used by indigenous people.