10 Days
10 Topics

“How can visual storytellers be useful in the world?”
“How can they make the right kind of impact with their photographs?”
“How do the image-makers of the future create meaningful media?”

Within the framework of the topic of the day, “Storytellers of the Future”, Misha Vallejo is introducing a new, interactive website to accompany his project “Secret Sarayaku”, which is also part of the Lumix competition. This project records the struggle of the Kichwas who live along the Río Bobonaza in Ecuador and are defending themselves from the exploitation and destruction of the rainforest for purposes of extracting oil.

Employing the media of photography, film and sound, Vallejo documented the lives of the people in Sarayaku over three years. Focusing on their physical and spiritual connection with the surroundings, he portrayed the live of the Kichwa people in a horizontal way, leaving behind paternalism and idyllic views. Along with various multimedia chapters, a blog created in collaboration with the people of Sarayaku also appears on the website. With this project, Vallejo provides a successful example of a participatory approach and a form of empowerment for a local community.

Session was hosted by VII Photo.

All Live Talks are free of charge. But you can make a donation for the festival. Any sum is welcome. Please donate.

Misha Vallejo at Lumix Festival

Misha Vallejo

The digital revolution has allowed greater efficiency in the production and distribution of visual media, but in journalism image-based storytelling still largely consists of the single photograph, the slide show, and the short video. During this pandemic it has often been the same visual tropes that were continually recycled (a person in a mask, heroic medical professionals, empty streets, etc.), without investigating the underlying political and economic systems that have, in many cases, both exacerbated the disease’s impact and fractured societies in profound ways.

Can the visual storyteller be encouraged to act as an author who interprets issues and events with subtlety and depth, rather than as someone assigned primarily to illustrate a particular text or produce images to attract readers? Can the goal of the journalistic photograph be reimagined to provoke important questions, rather than concentrating on providing often facile answers? Can the visual journalist be reconceived as someone not only responding to what is in front of the camera, but also to include the making of imagery that is more proactive, serving to alleviate future suffering in advance? And, given the great number of strategies available in the digital environment, how can a diversity of media be sequenced and mixed with greater sophistication so as to more fully engage the reader and allow for more complexity in the narrative? READ MORE

Session was hosted by VII Photo.

All Live Talks are free of charge. But you can make a donation for the festival. Any sum is welcome. Please donate.

Misha Vallejo ›Secret Sarayaku‹