Tea for Memory

Click here for the Vimeo Video, which has better quality and has the option of subtitles in Spanish, English, French and Japanese; 

This video, directed by Julio Mora,  is the continuation of a project about healing spaces, hearts and memory through sharing. We use elements of the Japanese tea ceremony as a tool for creating a calm atmosphere, offering attention and our hearts. We gathered with four women belonging to ANFASEP, an association of relatives of people missing during the internal armed conflict in Peru (1980-2000). 

The association invited us to have the event at La Hoyada ( Ayacucho ). This place was used by state agents to bury and incinerate bodies of hundreds of missing people. It is sacred for the ANFASEP people, because they say the suffering of their missing relatives made it sacred and a place for their memory. The recording focuses on their voices and stories rather than the ceremony itself. Nearly forty years have passed since their relatives disappear, they are still claiming for justice, and a memorial space to remember. The long-promised memorial museum at La Hoyada has started in 2023.

Some pictures of the film and drawings of our planning process

The first part of the project was carried out in Lima, the capital city, where there is a Memorial museum (Lugar de la Memoria, la Tolerancia y la Inclusión Social LUM ) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Our guest was Ana Correa, a teacher, performer and advocate for rights, member of the group Yuyachkani. Link available here: vimeo.com/497771595 

(2021) Tea for Memory: records of a performance at La Hoyada [Short film], Peru Dir. Julio Mora. 2021 Official Selection of The Film Festival for Democratic Memory (Spain), 2021 Official Selection of the Trujillo Film Festival, 2021 Muestra de Cine de los Pueblos Indígenas (Colombia), 13e Festival de Cinéma Péruvien de Paris (France), Knowmad Short film Festival 2023, among others

(2023) “Reflections On Silence and Ritualised Hospitality” Research in Drama Education: The Journal of Applied Theatre and Performance, Volume 28, 2023 - Issue 1: Oral History Performance, Listening and Transitional Justice. Guest Editors: Luis Carlos Sotelo Castro and Toni Shapiro-Phim. 83-91