IdeaMe is an online platform, which helps creators, be they inventors, artists, or designers, among others, to finance their projects through crowd funding. Each week, the Indy features and promotes one project every week, with the aim of helping the creators finance and achieve their dreams. This week: Latinoamerica Te Amo.
“Not only does the world scarcely know who the Latin American man is, the world has barely cared.” US journalist Georgie Anne Geyers may have written this in 1970, but almost half a century on, the sentiment remains one of the key inspirations for a new independent documentary project called ‘Latinoamerica Te Amo’.
Fed up with the trials and tribulations of the corporate television and film industry, four young filmmaking enthusiasts quit their prestigious jobs at Argentine television channels and set up their own independent film company Como Se Llama Cine. Their latest project, ‘Latinoamerica Te Amo’, will document a road trip they are undertaking throughout Latin America. The journey began in Rosario, Argentina on 5th September and will end in Mexico.
If all goes to plan, an old battered black van will be their home for the next two years. The vehicle has five passengers; the four filmmakers,Agustin Lagos, Luis Piccinali, German Oural y Maria Fernandez,and a mechanic, ‘Chicharito’, to ensure the mobile home stays mobile.
Their aims are simple: to prove that quality audiovisual content can be created without corporate or governmental funding, to voice the stories of people who otherwise may not be heard, and to unify Latin America through their work.
“We don’t want to earn money, we want to tell stories,” explains the group’s promotional video. Their footage takes the form of short documentary episodes, video diary entries and clips which are posted online at regular intervals during their journey. In an interview with Cordoba’s La Voz, one of the filmmakers said, “the idea is to experiment with classic documentary, interviews and fictional documentary”. The first three entries in their video diary are already available on Youtube and provide examples of the unique characters and inevitable car-related logistical issues that the group will come across along the way.
“We want to hear and tell the stories of all our brother countries”, the groups explains on their blog. In a region so often plagued by conflict, a documentary like ‘Latinoamerica Te Amo’ seeks to explore the common roots and appreciate the differences of its people and towns and seems like an excellent concept.
“Latin America is huge and our desire to cross it is too” reads the group’s facebook slogan. However, a trip of this nature is impossible without money, and the collective are appealing to the public for donations. “We need help from anyone who is able and interested” says Maria, the sole female member of the group. For the project to be a successful one and remain independent, we at the Indy encourage anyone who can to support ‘Latinoamerica te Amo’. Even if it is just to offer them somewhere to park their van along the way! Visit their Ideame page to learn more.
