Maria Fernanda Miño, Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington
The following playlist seeks to trace cinematic representations of Christian missionaries in Ecuadorian film history. Following a semi-chronological order, the selected films range from a few minutes of recovered film fragments to highly acclaimed fictional features, revealing both sympathetic and antagonistic positions towards these religious subjects. The list includes figures like Carlo Crespi, an Italian priest and pioneer during the silent film era; Third Cinema referents like Jorge Sanjinés and the Guayasamín brothers, who offered a more critical and decolonial approach in the 1970s; and recent approximations by foreign and local filmmakers, centring on social justice and environmental concerns.
What these trajectories revealed – besides an evident absence of women filmmakers* – is a verifiable transnational reach that facilitated these encounters and that potentially risked perpetuating “civilisation” and “progress” tropes for lay peoples in Ecuador. Many of these works seem to give prevalence to the missionary/protagonist over local communities, establishing a binary based on Western interpretations of development. With a few exceptions, even disapproving works like Llukshi Kaimanta display an artistic agency that is limited to the director (or funding institution), and that prioritise their input over the collective. Nevertheless, these films should be studied in their proper context, offering an invitation for further dialogue and understanding.
This absence is only partially explained by the playlist’s sole focus on missionaries. Notable omissions by female directors that depict local clergy or preachers include En el Nombre de la Hija/In the Name of the Girl (Tania Hermida, 2011, Ecuador), Vengo Volviendo/Here and There (Isabel Rodas and Gabriel Páez, 2015, Ecuador) and La Importancia de llamarse Satya Bicknell Rothon/The Importance of Being Named Satya Bicknell Rothon (Juliana Khalifé, 2013, Ecuador).
Los Invencibles Shuaras del Alto Amazonas/The Invincible Shuaras of the Upper Amazon (Carlo Crespi & Ulises Estrella, 1926/1995, Ecuador)
Considered the first ethnographic film to be shot in the Ecuadorian Amazon, Los Invencibles Shuaras also allows for reflections on film preservation and historical reenactment. The film was originally directed by Italian priest Carlo Crespi, with the intention of securing funding for local missions. This intention is evident in the structure of the film, presenting an initial journey from Genoa to the Ecuadorian Oriente, followed by various Jibaro traditions, including the ancient practice of head reduction or tzanzas. The film concludes with a reference to the Salesian mission, however, only seven minutes of the original film remain. A longer reenactment based on Crespi’s script was produced in 1995 by then Cinemateca director Ulises Estrella, yet this later revision primarily centres on Crespi’s legacy.
Fragments of the film are available at Cinemateca Nacional’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hjTcSmWmo_c
Through the Gates of Splendor (Jim Hanon, 1967, United States/Ecuador)
In 1956, the killing of five Christian missionaries by the Amazonian Waorani tribe quickly reached international headlines. Though the Gates of Splendor tells this story from the perspective of one of the widows, Elisabeth Elliot, based on her best-selling book published only a year later. Clearly intended for an English-speaking Christian audience, the documentary makes use of original footage from their encounters with the “auca” or “savage” peoples. Elliot’s voiceover portrays them as docile and willing to receive the Gospel, which is reinforced by her decision to remain in the mission field with her daughter Valerie and fellow missionary Rachel Saint. Like Crespi’s earlier work, Through the gates is also a product of its time and can include representations now deemed as problematic.
This film is available at Vision Video’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fcit8-SWt-s
A more recent feature film about the incident can be found on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INdnQliTO38
¡El Cielo para la Cunshi, Caraju!/Heaven for my Cunshi, Dammit! (Gustavo e Igor Guayasamín, 1975, Ecuador)
By the 1970s, the scarce film activity taking place in Ecuador seemed to find resonance with broader Latin American movements, including those associated with Third Cinema. ¡El Cielo para la Cunshi, Caraju! is one of those examples, directed by Gustavo and Igor Guayasamín, and loosely based on the indigenista novel Huasipungo by Jorge Icaza. A silent, black-and white short, the film tells the story of Andrés Chiliquinga, an Indigenous peasant from the Andes who approaches a Catholic priest to give proper burial to his late wife. Unable to afford burial costs, he is forced into criminal acts, which are not well-received by their local community. ¡El Cielo para la Cunshi points to increasingly negative depictions of Christian missionaries and priests, usually attributing colonial undertones.
This film is available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MZRnr1ZSAsg
Llukshi Kaimanta / ¡Fuera de Aquí! / Get out of Here! (Jorge Sanjinés, 1977, Bolivia/Ecuador)
Contrary to El Cielo para la Cunshi’s mixed reviews at the time of release, Llukshi Kaimanta wasregarded as one of the best Ecuadorian films of all times, even when director Jorge Sanjinés (and most of the crew) were originally from Bolivia. Produced by Grupo Ukamau in collaboration with Andean communities near Tambaloma, Tungurahua, the film fictionalises multiple efforts to dispossess peoples from their land and give way to mining activities. In particular, the film references American evangelical missionaries and their alleged attempts to divide the community and to secretly run sterilisation campaigns against Indigenous women.
This film is available at Cinemateca Nacional’s YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RnZuat0m1_Q
Gleanntan Ecuador/The Valleys of Ecuador (Jan Pester, 1994, Scotland)
A more sympathetic portrayal can be found in Gleanntan Ecuador, a medium-length documentary spoken in Scottish Gaelic and intended for Scottish television. Following a textual treatment that resembles long form reporting, the film reviews MacInnes’ efforts in attending the spiritual and infrastructural needs of his parishioners, including a water supply project for the neighbourhood. The film also highlights transnational networks of solidarity, particularly with Catholic communities in the Outer Hebrides. These are contrasted with local communist leaders and intimidation tactics attributed throughout the film. In 1994, Gleanntan Ecuador won the Spirit of the Festival award at the Celtic Film Festival.
An excerpt of the film can be found at BBC Alba’s website: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b06gpk4h
Toroboro: El Nombre de las Plantas/Toroboro: The Name of the Plants (Manolo Sarmiento, 2024, Ecuador)
In recent years, anti-extractivism movements have gained important traction in Ecuador’s public sphere, a tendency that has also influenced local cinema. In this line, Toroboro explores the ecological aftermath of timber and oil exploitation in the Ecuadorian Amazon, in particular the region near the Napo River or Toroboro for the local Waoranis. The film chooses to revisit an ethno-botanical study conducted in the 1990s, to highlight irreparable losses in plant biodiversity and its attached cultural memory. Of special interest is a reference to the Summer Institute of Linguistics (or SIL), a global para-church organisation that is presented as having significant influence over the community (see Through the Gates of Splendor). Toroboro is part-one of a cinematic ‘diptych’ that also includes Toroboro: La Consulta Popular (Toroboro: The referendum).
In 2024, Toroboro premiered at EDOCs Film Festival, followed by a conversation with director Manolo Sarmiento and members of the Waorani community.
A special trailer edited by renowned filmmaker Sebastián Cordero can be watched here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZRUP0h9j4s
Short Bio:
Dr Maria Fernanda Miño is a Lecturer of Film at Te Herenga Waka – Victoria University of Wellington. Her monograph Ecuadorian Cinema for the 21st century (Palgrave UK, 2023) explores film narratives, aesthetics, and production practices in contemporary Ecuadorian cinema. More recent interests include the concept of Buen Vivir (Good Living) in Indigenous film and media, particularly its connection to decoloniality and Rights of Nature. Previous publications relate to political documentary, collective memory, participatory video, and local identities.