CANTADORAS

Musical Memories of Life and Death In Colombia

The word Cantadora comes from traditional Colombian music influenced by African roots and refers to the women that compose and sing their songs while going through their daily chores. “Cantadoras” provides a portrait of rural life in Colombia in its Caribbean and Pacific regions told through the words and songs of the resilient Afro-Colombian singers that farm there. These resilient women speak of memories of violence at the hands of paramilitaries, and the power of song to build strength and give voice to dignity and creativity.

THE FILMMAKER

María Fernanda Carrillo Sánchez is a researcher, scholar and filmmaker. She is the Co-Coordinator of the Laboratory of Media and Audiovisuals (Laboratorio de Medios Audiovisuales, LaMA) at the Universidad Autónoma de la Ciudad de México (UACM). María has a Master’s Degree in Documentary Filmmaking at the Centro Universitario de Estudios Cinematográficos and the Facultad de Artes y Diseño (UNAM). She also has a Master’s Degree in Social Sciences (FLACSO, Mex). Sociologist (UNAL, Col). María studies focused on direction, sound, editing and the production of documentary films. She also director musical clips and political documentaries. María also organizes conferences and workshops and teaches courses in documentary filmmaking and social science research.

HONORS, AWARDS, AND FESTIVALS

Nomination “Ethnomusicology Film Award 2019, Royal Anthropological Institute Film Festival, RAI-FF Bristol, UK.
Honorable Mention Best Documentary, African International Film Festival, AFRIFF, Lagos, Nigeria.
Best Documentary “Culture and Identity Afro and Afro-Descendent People”, FICWALLMAPU Festival, Temuco, Chile.
Best Social Documentary, Audiovisual Festival of Montes de María, FAMMA, Carmen de Bolívar, Colombia.
Honorable Mention Best Student Documentary, José Rovirosa Award, National Autonomus University of Mexico.
Honorable Mention Best Documentary “Pepe Benitéz Muro”, Crystal Screen Festival, Mexico City, Mexico.
Award Gender Lab Work In Progress, Best Project. Int'l Film Exhibition with Gender Perspective of Mexico City, MICG
Selected Project in Postproduction for “Dissection” in DocuLab5, International Film Festival of Guadalajara, Guadalajara, Mexico.
Official Selection Royal Anthropological Institute Film Festival RAI-FF Intangible Culture. Bristol, UK
Official Selection Africa Internacional Film Festival AFRIFF, Lagos, Nigeria
Official Selection Globale Film Festival Berlin, Germany
Official Selection Film Library Word Music Expo (WOMEX Film), Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Spain
Official Selection Festival Internacional Indígena de Wallmapu FICWALLMAPU, Temuco, Chile
Official Selection Festival de Cine Etnográfico “Etnografías Otras”, Quito, Ecuador
Official Selection Festival Africa Moment, Bacerlona, Spain
Official Selection Media Library of the Industry of Visions du Réel, Festival International de Cinéma Nyon
Official Selection, Festival Contra el Silencio Todas las Voces, México City, México
Official Selection Festival LatinoDocs Toulouse, France
Official Selection Festival FILMAR en América Latina, Geneva, Switzerland
Official Selection III Muestra de Cine y Radio Comunitario en Mesoamérica, Oaxaca, México
Official Selection Festival Internacional de Cine de Mérida y Yucatán, FICMY, México
Official Selection Festival Internacional por los Derechos Humanos de Bogotá, Colombia
Official Selection Muestra Internacional de Cine con Perspectiva de Género de la Ciudad de México, México
Official Selection Muestra Audiovisual XVI Congreso de Antropología en Colombia y del V Congreso de la Asociación Latinoamericana de Antropología, Universidad javeriana, Bogotá Colombia.
Premier – Muestra Fílmica del Centro Universitario de Estudios Cinematográficos, México
Pre-Premier Official Selection Festival Internacional de Cine y Medio Ambiente de Cuernavaca, Cinema Planeta