Florian Walter: On the road with Maruch

Synopsis of the film
The anthropological film takes us into the world of an indigenous woman, Maruch de la Cruz Pérez. As she embarks on a journey through her home state, she is restrained by both the traditions of her village, Zinacantán, and by the racism and sexism of Mexican society to which she is subjected while travelling. The film was honoured with a “Special award for combining ethnography, visual representation and personal narrative” at the Festival of Ethnological Film, Belgrade (2008). Open access at www.filming-culture.com

Outline of the book
The book focuses on the possibilities that collaboration offers and its impact on transcultural processes of understandings. The notion of partnership is proposed as part of the methodological tool-kit of a (visual) anthropologist so as to envision a transgression of the boundaries of anthropology. The use of partnership both triggers and heightens transcultural processes of understanding. The book is structured in three parts. Part I outlines the Theoretical and Methodological Framework of the project. Part II is a Handbook for Making Transcultural Films. Part III (Transcultural Partnership Media) deals with the possibilities that are offered by non-linear and open documents in the context of the post-modern and post-digital era.


Über den Autor
Florian Walter is a visual and media anthropologist with over three years’ experience carrying out ethnographic film- and fieldwork in Chiapas, Mexico, particularly in local media projects. He completed his PhD on audiovisual and collaborative methods at the University of Bremen in 2012, and currently works as an assistant professor at the Freie Universität Berlin. His research interests focus on transcultural filmmaking, co-theorizations, and decolonial strategies and perspectives.