Cherán

A quiet revolution is taking place in the P’urhépecha forest of Michoacán in Mexico, resulting in the consolidation of an Indigenous autonomous government. This film follows various activists and community members involved in the 2011 P’urhépecha uprising in Cherán. Doña Mela is a radio and community activist, expert in Indigenous traditional medicine. Her husband, Don Fidel, is a campesino working the land with traditional agriculture. Tata Meche is a librarian specialized in P’urhépecha history. Jesús Ángel is a poet and philosopher which along with ‘Diablo’ and many others, founded the local Indigenous police known as Ronda Comunitaria.

Following the tradition of cinema vérité, Cherán is a portrait of the everyday life of key members from the community involved in the P’urhépecha uprising. This ethnographic study explores issues of race, geography and class in their struggle for territorial jurisdiction and political autonomy. By combining experimental ethnography with cinema vérité, the film weaves in various geographies, landscapes and rural environments, from campesinos and local activists to Indigenous local militia.

Credits

Cherán
Color, Stereo
HD
70 mins.
2021

Directed by Victor Arroyo

CAST

Doña Imelda Campos Sebastian
Don Fidel Cucue Turja
Don Jose Merced Velazquez Pañeda
Jesús Ángel Pedroza
Heriberto Campos AKA ‘Diablo’
Salvador Torres Tomás

Sound design by Christian Olsen
Post-production by PRIM
Productions Réalisations Indépendantes de Montréal

Trailer 2 mins.