It all began as a thesis project in 2018, which was taking shape and mutating in this vivid and shocking documentary released in 2019. Misión Huaytapallana, is the debut of the American director Mark Gregory and after its success, together with the audiovisual producer Rodrigo Ramírez, motivated the creation of Kumbre, an audiovisual production company with which they have launched other projects to make visible the climate situation in Peru.
On the verge of the popular premiere of the second piece of this trilogy “Chasing Glaciers: Cordillera Blanca”, about to launch on YouTube in March 2023, we wanted to share the visceral argument of a work that has been internationally recognized and awarded, which won, among others, the award in the Exploration and Adventure category at The North Face 2019 Mountain Film Festival.
This Peruvian production, far from showing us the tourist attractions of a land that is renowned worldwide for its natural landscapes, invites us to reflect on climate change from a daily perspective, present and narrated by its own protagonists. Inhabitants of the Huancayo community from locals, workers in the area, to academics who have dedicated their careers to the study of the Huaytapallana glacier, and who have been able to contrast the historical information of a community in which climate change knocks on the door every day. days. According to scientific reports, the Huaytapallana glacier would only have an estimate of 15 years of life, which raises the flag on the Huancayo area and the entire Junín region in central Peru.
Water scarcity, intermittent water supply and adaptation to a life in which this vital resource is extremely limited. Characteristics of a post-apocalyptic world that we would only like to see on the big screen but not in our cities. This is how this wonderful documentary reveals to us how reality is stranger than fiction, and that climate change, far from being a science fiction topic or a futuristic concern, is an empirical reality that communities that depend on the water courses of glaciers and mountains.
The reality of these modern times can be quite harsh, but the magical direction of this audiovisual piece is not to succumb to desolation and pessimism. This work seeks to fulfill the objective of delivering a message full of hope and resilience, through the testimonies of those who continue to fight for their territory and educate themselves to mitigate the consequences of the fierce deterioration of a glacier that is a symbol and considered a deity for many who live and they base their economies around this massif on the verge of extinction.
This documentary is the first of a trilogy, of which the third part is still in development. Below we leave you the direct link of Chasing Glaciers “Mission Huaytapallana” so that you can enjoy and wake up to a revealing truth.
To learn more about Kumbre’s work, visit Kumbre Media
