Cinema circuit will take films to quilombolas on the coast of SC

The name Chica Pelega refers to the Contestado War (1912-1916) on the border of Santa Catarina and Paraná. The confrontation between peasants exploited by the oligarchies and the Brazilian Army resulted in 20,000 deaths. The name of the character who fought for social justice, caring for the sick and children, inspired a cinema circuit that will soon reach the remaining quilombola communities on the coast of Santa Catarina.

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From the 8th to the 15th of May, the exhibition will be in seven territories showing feature and short fiction films and documentaries with themes about the reality of this population.

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The itinerancy begins in the Caldas do Cubatão community, in Santo Amaro da Imperatriz. Participation is free. Exhibition locations vary: from community halls to homes. The seven sessions continue in Toca/Santa Cruz (Paulo Lopes), Morro do Fortunato and Aldeia (Garopaba), Ilhotinha, (Capivari de Baixo), Maria Rosalina (Araranguá) and São Roque (Praia Grande).

The Chica Pelega Cinema Circuit is carried out with resources from the Government of the State of Santa Catarina, through the Fundação Catarinense de Cultura (FCC), through the Elisabete Anderle Prize for Stimulating Culture – 2023 Edition.

Workshops in the territories generated three short films

Edson Camargo, state coordinator of the quilombola communities of Santa Catarina and leader of Invernada dos Negros, is part of the organization of the Chica Pelega Exhibition and Circuit. For him, cinema is giving the opportunity to show the history of the community located between Campos Novos and Abdon Batista. Around 320 families live in the 12 centers that make up the territory that extends over 25 kilometers.

— Our community dates back to 1877 and we received the land by inheritance, but unfortunately, we were then robbed and oppressed. In 2004, we obtained the quilombo remnant certificate from the Fundação Cultural Palmares, we resumed the fight, founded the quilombola association – the oldest in our State – and from then on a new struggle to recover our territory began – he says.

The director explains that workshops were held in two communities with Cuban filmmaker Yasser Socarrás González. The experience resulted in three short films made by quilombola participants: “Fight and resistance”, “In the drums: the dream of many” and “The struggle of a polinário quilombola” (reference to those who live in Campo dos Poli). Short films produced in the territories will also be on the Cinema Circuit programming.

After visiting the communities of the Coast and West of Santa Catarina, where it will arrive in June, the circuit program brings together different views and perspectives of the black, indigenous and white populations that make up the caboclo of the Contestado region. For Camargo, getting closer to other communities brings the opportunity for greater knowledge about realities that have a lot in common.

— Who knows, maybe we’ll plan and tell the stories of other quilombolas in Santa Catarina? – suggests.

The circuit is an offshoot of the 3rd Chica Pelega Film Festival — quilombola edition. Held in 2023, the Show presented 28 films highlighting the culture and identity of the remaining quilombola communities in Santa Catarina and the country. Composed of online and in-person sessions, it took place in Fraiburgo, Capinzal, Monte Carlo and Campos Novos, in seven schools and other spaces.

For Vanda Pinedo, from the curatorial committee and the Unified Black Movement (MNU), the intention was “to expand the films about the Contestado, bringing other stories of black figures through which communities identify in their historical pasts and present events, in their community contexts and their larger struggles, in the similarities with other contexts in the country”.

All films and more information about the program — divided into the curatorial axes Resistência SC, Quilombos in the plural, Visions of the ancestral world, Living memories, Making Quilombola and Roots on stage — can be accessed at www.chicapelega.com.br.

Check the schedule

REMNANT OF QUILOMBO CALDAS DO CUBATÃO

May 8th – Wednesday – 7pm

Frei Hugolino Parish Hall

Santo Amaro da Imperatriz/SC

REMNANT OF QUILOMBO TOCA-SANTA CRUZ

May 9th – Thursday – 7pm

Veronica and Jorge’s House

Paulo Lopes/SC

REMNANT OF QUILOMBO MORRO DO FORTUNATO

May 10th – Friday – 7pm

Community multipurpose room

Garopaba/SC

REMNANT OF QUILOMBO ALDEIA

May 11th – Saturday – 7pm

Village Headquarters

Garopaba/SC

REMNANT OF QUILOMBO ILHOTINHA

May 13th – Monday – 7pm

Community Parish Hall

Capivari de Baixo/SC

REMNANT OF QUILOMBO MARIA ROSALINA

May 14th – Tuesday – 7pm

Maria Rosalina Community

Araranguá/SC

REMNANT OF QUILOMBO SÃO ROQUE

May 15th – Wednesday – 7pm

Community Hall

Praia Grande/SC

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