Contributions by Rudyard J. Alcocer, Christopher L. Ballengee, Lázaro J. González, Koby Bryan Hansen, Kim Johnson, Shweta Kishore, Sinah Theres Kloß, Gabriela Martínez, Thomas Matusiak, María Fernanda Miño, Rachel Moseley-Wood, Bernardo Oliveira, Rupa Pillai, Ana Patricia Rodríguez, Keya Saxena, Lisa Tomlinson, Vuk Vuković, and Bartosz Wójcik
Shooting Back: Documentary Film in Latin America and the Caribbean brings much-needed critical attention to the documentary and ethnographic filmmaking traditions of Latin America and the Caribbean, regions where fiction cinema has long dominated scholarly discourse. This wide-ranging collection explores the diverse social, cultural, political, and institutional forces that shape nonfiction filmmaking across the hemisphere.
Featuring essays from leading and emerging scholars, the volume examines how documentary and ethnographic films have responded to and influenced political movements, national identity, and cultural memory. Contributors investigate how these films affirm or contest colonial legacies, challenge systems of power and inequality, and reflect ongoing struggles around migration, diaspora, and decolonial thought.
In addition to thematic explorations, Shooting Back delves into the practical realities of filmmaking in the region, from production and distribution to the roles played by educational and governmental institutions. The collection also considers the impact of film festivals, evolving technologies, and transnational networks, offering comparative analyses of key works and filmmakers.
As both a scholarly intervention and an invitation for further research, Shooting Back situates Latin American and Caribbean documentary within broader conversations about global cinema, postcolonial critique, and Global South studies. This volume is an essential resource for film scholars, Latin Americanists, and anyone interested in the political and aesthetic power of nonfiction film.
Table of Contents:
Introduction: New Perspectives on Documentary Film in Latin America and the Caribbean
Christopher L. Ballengee
Nationhood in Focus
The Pride of Nationhood: Film and Nationalism in Barbados
Rachel Moseley-Wood
Documentary Film and Cuba’s Censorship: Coffea Arábiga (1968)
Vuk Vuković
"A New Day is Dawning": Sweet Sugar Rage (1985) and Local Documentary Film Culture
Lisa Tomlinson
Abolition: The Transatlantic Cinema of Zózimo Bulbul
Bernardo Oliveira
Frames of Resistance
Pocho Álvarez: Oppositional Documentary and Ecuador’s Socialism for the Twenty-first-Century
María Fernanda Miño
Difficult Traces to Erase: Audiovisual Projects Remembering the Stroessner Dictatorship
Koby Bryan Hansen
Participation, Poetry, and Song: Anand Patwardhan and New Latin American Cinema
Shweta Kishore
Against Denial: Postwar Testimonial Documentaries of El Salvador
Ana Patricia Rodríguez
Palabras De Luz: Reclaiming Personal Stories and Narratives for Social Change in Postconflict Colombia
Keya Saxena and Gabriela Martínez
Border Crossings
A Jaguar in Paris: Teo Hernández’s Shamanic Cinema
Thomas Matusiak
Memoirs of Sexile: Mariel Boatlift and Cuban Queer Archives
Lázaro J. González
Queering Views: The Multiple Interventions of Michelle Mohabeer’s Queer Coolie-tudes (2019)
Rupa Pillai
Filming Mother: Performing Respectability through Ethnographic Documentaries on Guyanese Kali-Mai Puja
Sinah Theres Kloß
Looking for a Hero: Masters of the Dew, La Source, and the Quest for Water in Haiti
Rudyard J. Alcocer
Contemporary Caribbean Filmmakers
Mobile Decolonization in Progress: An Interview with Aiko Roudette, Director of Hairouna Film Festival
Bartosz Wójcik
"Every Moment Here Is Like a Movie": An Interview with Akley Olton
Kim Johnson
Perspective and Practice: An Interview with Kim Johnson
Christopher L. Ballengee
Contributor List
Index
