Experiencing Interruptions?

Timekeepers of the Anthropocene: Tolchikaualistli

Tolchikaualistli: to exist simultaneously in two places and dimensions of time is an immigrant’s ability to embody a transobder life, navigating the past, present, and future at once. To (be)long is to reclaim territory, in this case it is a transcendence of time and space as a means to reclaim a new dimension of territory or place that must exist in between two worlds, between the past and the future, between two identities, between ones many selves. Smuggling traditions are acts of resiliency, self-preservation, resistance, and self-rematriation in a dimension of transborder indigeneity and one’s many selves: to be an alien; to be the other; to be the threat; to be the dream; to be the backbone; to be the invasion; to be a cultural nomad; to be (in)visible; to be 500 years of historical weight; to be a ‘pinche indio’ ; to be hope...

  • Federico Cuatlacuatl
    Director
  • Joshua Rodenberg
    Sound Design
  • Project Type:
    Animation, Experimental, Short, Other
  • Genres:
    immigration, indigeneity, experimental, transborder, indigenous futurism, re-indigenization
  • Runtime:
    9 minutes 16 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    February 3, 2022
  • Production Budget:
    5,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Mexico
  • Country of Filming:
    Mexico
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Federico Cuatlacuatl

Born in Cholula, Puebla, Mexico, Federico Cuatlacuatl is an indigenous artist based in Virginia and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Art at the University of Virginia. Federico's work is invested in disseminating topics of Latinx immigration, social art practice, and cultural sustainability. Building from his own experience growing up as an undocumented immigrant and previously holding DACA (Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals), Federico’s creative practice centers on the intersectionality of indigeneity and immigration under a pressing Anthropocene. At the core of his most recent research and artistic production is the intersection of transborder indigeneity and migrant indigenous futurisms. Federico’s independent productions have been screened in various national and international film festivals as well as exhibitions in museums and galleries worldwide. As founder and director of the Rasquache Artist Residency in Puebla, Mexico, he actively stays involved in socially engaged works and binational endeavors.

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