A Cholita Owning Her Story: The Indigenous Gaze in the Filmography of Delia Yujra Chura

Delia Yujra Chura is a Bolivian filmmaker and activist, known for her work advocating for Indigenous women’s rights, particularly the Cholitas. Her films explore the intersection of gender, ethnicity, and class, focusing on the resilience of Indigenous communities and offering a critical Indigenous perspective that challenges mainstream narratives. Yujra’s work, especially her short films, emphasizes the Indigenous gaze, providing an alternative to marginalized voices. Therefore, the main objective of this study is to present an overview of her career, filmography, and activism for Cholita rights, with a specific focus on her films through Filmmakers’ Theory. Methodologically, this approach examines films through the filmmaker’s perspectives and ideologies, emphasizing the understanding of film as a personal expression rather than just a narrative product. In other words, the analytical exercise implemented here involves closely examining the interconnection between filmmakers’ discourses and their audiovisual works. Despite Yujra’s developing career and the limited recognition of her films, this study offers an opportunity to introduce the director and her work to scholars, while applying Filmmakers’ Theory to a filmmaker from an underrepresented background, with an emphasis on films that have yet to receive significant academic attention. The research not only highlights Yujra’s originality but also demonstrates the value of this approach in exploring less-discussed works.