Mexican youth resist through community cinema
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In Papantla, Veracruz, Mexico, a group of young Totonac people have gathered annually since 2015 to strengthen community bonds and preserve their culture through creative activities.
Initiated by a group of musicians coordinated by activist Omar Lázaro García, the events evolved to include workshops in music, theatre, pottery, and traditional medicine, welcoming various collectives and elders.
In 2025, the community cinema collective Xolo Films joined the annual gathering to address a lack of artistic and audiovisual training for young people in rural and Indigenous areas. Supported by the Intercultural Centre for Sustainability of Papantla and the Mexican Fund for Culture and Arts, Xolo Films ran a workshop for over twenty activists from the region and nearby states.
Xolo Films prioritises community storytelling over large-scale production, having formed in 2015 following a training program based on popular education. They’ve since created several short films and workshops. Members believe that cinema should empower everyone to tell their own stories, using whatever resources are available. Participants at the camp experimented with cameras, sound equipment, and acting, aiming to create politically engaged films that document and question systemic violence.
Young artists like Briany Lilith Lastiri Cruz and Alejandro Jiménez Méndez are using cinema to address issues like trans rights, environmental damage, and the preservation of local traditions and languages, ensuring their communities’ stories are told from within. The group will meet again in 2026 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the National Indigenous Congress and discuss water preservation.
