Tacos de lengua

The aim of this project is to complete the documentary “Tacos de lengua”, a film project with a wide cultural background and an informative and humanitarian character.

THE PROJECT

The project is focused in two old Mexican men who nowadays are the only speakers of an old endangered indigenous language. The two old men, after a discussion, have fallen out and are no longer talking to each other, and therefore their local variant of the Zoque language could dissapear entirely.

The money would go to the costs of:

Pre-production: stationery, copies of the script, telephone charges, displacements and office supplies.

Production: hiring of tools and machinery (main camera, secondary camera, special complementary lenses, accessories, lighting equipment, crane, generator, sound equipment), car/van rental, fuel, customs, subsistence and travel allowances.

Post-production: editing, post-production room rental, original music composition, design, copies and marketing.

The project will start to be implemented three weeks after securing the funding.

The audiovisual piece is scheduled to be completed between three and four months after the filming period.

TREATMENT AND TECHNICAL ASPECTS

The project will be addressed in a testimonial way, with fictional/realistic aspects, intending to plunge into the reality of the main characters.

One of the two stages of the project development involves visiting the two elders in Tabasco and gathering as much information as possible.

The guiding thread of the project is based on:

1.The trajectory and present reality of the two elders. They and their actions will guide us along this stage of the documentary-making, underpinning and triggering the plot.

2.Interviews given to specialist linguists, experts who are knowledgeable in the subject and persons that can provide enlightening information and opinions (including the president of Mexico’s National Institute of Indigenous Languages).

Technically, the recording format will be CineAlta, with an XD CAM FULL HD camera.

COMPLEMENTARY ELEMENTS

We’ll try to maximize the motivation of the two elders to bring their criteria and testimony out, and to encourage them to express their open opinion in front of the camera.

We’ll place on record this unique local Zoque variant, bringing out a videographic material with great historical value and also a testimony of the cultural richness of Tabasco and the difficult time this indigenous culture is going through.

Also, if necessary, we’ll use archive images to provide a broader historical perspective. We’ll work on documenting moments from the pioneering work that, with scientific interests, certain linguists undertook in the past.

Finally, another important aspect is the sound treatment. We will have an original soundtrack exploring the musical millenary elements of the Mesoamerican culture.

The live sound will be captured with all the needed technical deployment, and it will play a crucial role in the public’s understanding of the local linguistics forms.

DIFFUSION OF THE PROJECT IN FESTIVALS

The proposal involves making a quality documentary and to distribute it to international cinema festivals in order to show what, even before being filmed, is already taking shape as a truly human testimony.

Thanks a lot.