{"id":2242,"date":"2014-05-28T17:30:57","date_gmt":"2014-05-28T21:30:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/der.org\/community\/?p=2242"},"modified":"2018-01-29T23:30:37","modified_gmt":"2018-01-29T23:30:37","slug":"der-podcast-jason-burlage-on-mi-chacra-my-land","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.der.org\/der-podcast-jason-burlage-on-mi-chacra-my-land\/","title":{"rendered":"DER Podcast: Jason Burlage on MI CHACRA"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"jason-burlage-interview\"

When I started, it seems like I should have thought about this, but I didn’t really think about the universality of that story \u2014 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.<\/em><\/span> \u2014 Jason Burlage<\/span><\/p>\n

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><\/cite>, 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 \u2014 and we come to understand Feliciano’s history and his hopes for a better life for his son \u2014 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 \u2014 through equal parts hard work and good luck.<\/p>\n

\u2014 Alice Apley<\/p>\n

Download the transcript (PDF)<\/a><\/p>\n