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The Arts are central to our mission of training, bringing together, promoting, and preparing future generations of Latin Americanist and Caribbeanist Scholars. The rich culture of the Americas is a great vehicle to share the histories, experiences, and realizations of the people of the Americas and the Caribbean.
CLACS develops Film Series, Art Exhibits, Artistic Residences, and Special Programming covering a wide range of forms and topics from the region.
The NC Latin American Film Festival celebrates the power and artistry of Latin America's film and audiovisual production. Its mission is to provide a space in North Carolina for Latin American images, sounds, and stories to reach a wider audience.
Since 1986, the festival provides filmmakers the opportunity to showcase their work in a stimulating and friendly context. Every fall the NC Latin American Film Festival welcomes filmmakers and film lovers from around the region to North Carolina for multiple screenings of feature films, documentaries, shorts, and new media. The Festival is organized by the Consortium in Latin American and Caribbean Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill and Duke University and directed by Miguel Rojas-Sotelo.
For more information about exhibitions, special projects, film series, and the Film Festival, contact:
Miguel Rojas-Sotelo, NC Latin American Film Festival Director
Tel 919.681.3883 | Email miguel.rojassotelo@duke.edu
Indigenous communication in the Americas is a fundamental right and a tool of resistance that enables people to narrate their own stories, strengthen their identity, and defend their territories against invisibility. It is characterized by the use of community radio, self-managed media, and intercultural networks, with a focus on the defense of collective rights, worldviews, and cultural diversity.
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The United Nations Declaration (2007) upholds the right of peoples to establish their own media outlets. CLACPI, The Latin American Coordinator of Indigenous Peoples' Cinema and Communication, is an entity established in 1985 to respond to the representation of the indigenous in the celebrations of the 500 years of colonization. Today, it comprises more than fifty (50) organizations, filmmakers, and collectives—both Indigenous and non-Indigenous—with an active presence throughout Latin America. The CONCIP is the National Commission of Communication of Indigenous Peoples of Colombia, a political and technical coordination space that promotes the Public Policy of Communications of and for Indigenous Peoples. They have been advocating for a communication policy for, in, and about the 115 indigenous nations living within the country.
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After several days of meetings at the United Nations Forum for Indigenous Issues, a delegation visited Duke, hosted by CLACS. During the meeting, they shared their work on the democratization of Indigenous communication in Colombia, as well as on the visibility and construction of alliances across the continent.
The representatives were:
José Vicente Otero | Nasa. An indigenous communicator and political leader. Former mayor of Caldono (Cauca), for a decade was the coordinator of Communication and External Relations of the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca (CRIC). Otero has been working for the construction of the Indigenous Public Policy of Communication in Colombia.
Hemerson Díaz Trejo | Pasto. A cultural manager and Indigenous communicator with more than 18 years of experience strengthening Indigenous territorial processes. Participant in international climate negotiations, including COP16 and
COP30 connects indigenous rights and climate policy. Díaz Trejo works with AICO por la Pacha Mama and CONCIP on communication policy and territorial advocacy. He is also an audiovisual producer with works presented in national and international festivals.
David Hernández Palmar | Wayuu. A Wayuu filmmaker and curator, founder and director of the Wayaakua Indigenous Audiovisual Foundation. Member of the Indigenous Media Caucus at the United Nations. Hernández Palmar is well known for his work on Indigenous narrative sovereignty, community cinema, Indigenous audiovisual diplomacy. His films and curatorial work has been presented at the Toronto International Film Festival, the Berlinale, and UNPFII
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They presented the docuseries, "El Buen Vivir." This is a Colombian documentary series produced by and for indigenous communities, which highlights their worldviews, ancestral knowledge, and territorial struggles through the CONCIP. Spanning multiple seasons, it emphasizes the defense of territory, indigenous-led education, and the spiritual legacy of peoples such as the Arhuaco, Guna Duke (Kuna), Kogui, Murui, Wayuu, and Misak. The series also addresses indigenous survival in urban contexts.
The project originated with the National Commission for Communication of Indigenous Peoples (CONCIP), in collaboration with Colombia's Ministry of Communications and Technologies (MINTIC). It is grounded in the concept of Sumak Kawsay (Good Living)—a political initiative aimed at revaluing ancestral knowledge, fostering harmony with nature, and ensuring food sovereignty. The stories are created and told by indigenous communicators themselves, showcasing their daily lives, territorial defense efforts, and spirituality, thereby moving away from external perspectives. During the meeting, participants were interested in the issue of Indigenous languages, used also as forms of resistance and demonstration of the living experiences and presence of multiple nations living with nations today.
Each season explores themes such as the upbringing of new generations, ancestral medicine, indigenous justice systems, and conflict resolution.
The series has traversed diverse regions of Colombia—from the Sierra Nevada to the Amazon—to showcase the cultural richness of the country's indigenous peoples.
Participants across the university, undergraduate, graduate, faculty, and community members, and colleagues from UNC were active in the dialogue about the realities, struggles, and actions of indigenous peoples in the Americas to reclaim their representation.
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Representatives of Indigenous nations such as the Lumbee, the Maya, and Pastos exchanged gifts, creating forms of reciprocity.
Among them: Ryan Emanuel, Lumbee, Associate Professor Nicholas School of the Environment; Jesalyn Keziah, Executive Director of Triangle Native American Society; Angélica Serna Jeri (Perú/Quechua), Assistant Professor Romance Studies / Indigenous Studies; Ted Hein. Director, Repurpose IT, Indigenous Schools Colombia; Anthony Dest, Professor of Geography, author of Dissident Peace: Autonomous Struggles and the State in Colombia; Roderico Yol Díaz. Maya/Guatemala, Filmmaker; Emily Rhyne, co-founder of Iximché Media; Nicoly Monteiro Do Santos, PhD Candidate at Romance Studies; Joshua Shapero, Romance Studies Quechua Instructor; Patrick Semler, CLACS; and Gia Huaman, undergraduate student participating in DukeEngage Colombia, 2026.
From left to right: Joshua Shapero, Emily Rhyne, Rode Yol, Antony Dest, José Vicente Otero, Emerson Díaz, David Hernández Palmar, Ted Hein, Jesalyn Keziah, Ryan Emanuel, Miguel Rojas Sotelo.