Mariam Jobrani at Birds Eye View
Published 31 months ago
The director of The Fighting Cholitas.
Birds Eye View, the UK's first major women's film festival, returns to London for a fourth year on March 6th. Over the next couple of weeks, Dazed Digital will be speaking to four featured directors, concluding today with Mariam Jobrani, the director of The Fighting Cholitas, a short documentary about Bolivian women wrestlers which is screening at the ICA on Thursday. (Or click here for our interview with Sonja Heiss, director of Hotel Very Welcome, or here for our interview with Jennifer Venditti, director of Billy the Kid, or here for our interview with Lucia Puenzo, director of XXY.)
Dazed Digital: How did you come across this sport? Are you a fan on women's wrestling?
Mariam Jobrani: Actually, no, I'm not a women's wrestling fan at all. I didn't even know the fighting Cholitas existed until I saw an article about them in the New York Times in August 2005. When I read the article I was so taken by their story that I had to go to Bolivia to see it for myself. The pull to go was so strong, it felt as if the women wrestlers reached through the article and pulled me to Bolivia! Within a few weeks I was on a plane with Kenny Krauss (our director of photography and producer) to see if we could shoot a short and tell this unique story, even though we had never been to Bolivia, we don't speak Spanish and we don't know anyone there.
DD: Was it easy finding the cholitas and getting access to the games?
MJ: Yes, surprisingly so. We hired a translator in Bolivia and along with them went to one of the Sunday matches. We spoke with the Cholita's wrestling promoter/manager, Juan Mamani, and were given access to them.
DD: The fighting cholitas call themselves "indigenous indians"; what role do they have in Bolivian society?
MJ: They have historically been part of the working class in Bolivia with little access to education and good jobs. Despite their disadvantages, the Cholitas are very strong women: often they have their own businesses and are heads of their households. This is one of the qualities that drew me to them.
DD: There are some funny elements in the film, helped by the old-school graphics. Why did you decide to use that style?
MJ: Actually, the graphics were an editorial decision: Teresa Deskins, our editor and producer, chose that font and we all agreed with her choice. The story has funny elements, because that's what we captured in filming these women. Again, despite the challenges they face on a daily basis, they still have a sense of humour.
DD: What did the cholitas think of the film?
MJ: They loved it, but they wished it was longer - they wanted to see more!
