ELEPHANT

category: art, diaspora, LGBTQI, narratives, short films

ELEPHANT

"ELEPHANT," is a short choreo-film produced entirely by women of color, against street harassment. The video is the collective effort of a group of interdisciplinary artists from the New York City area who came together to highlight the importance of looking at street harassment from a lens of reclamation of power.

Through interpretative dance, visual art and figurative language, the video guides us on an experiential journey that invites the viewer into what women go through by simply walking down the street. The idea is that a woman's body is often not her own, it is often whatever a patriarchal society has claimed it to be. We believe all people who identify as women as well as gender nonconforming individuals who are impacted by street harassment have a right to their bodies and in this video we take our bodies back.

The video is a film adaption of a poem written by Nuyorican Poet Elisabet Velasquez, performed by dancer and choreographer Keomi Tarver, body paint by Alicia Cobb, and produced by Wendy Angulo.

directed by CONNIE CHAVEZ
Connie Chavez is a native Peruvian, self-taught filmmaker and photographer with a passion for social justice, spirituality and visual activism. Through cinematography and photography, her visual activism aims to decolonize and reeducate audiences. Some of her recent work include; Elephant a choreo-film against street harassment that was the opening act that the Amber Rose Slut Walk 2017, Women Leading Change a documentary shot in Guatemala about Maya women's fight for autonomy and Bruja and Blessed, a series where she sat down with a celebrated spiritual practitioner to discuss the intersection of culture and spirituality, in an effort to demystify, educate and empower her community. Her work has appeared in outlets such as NBC, NowThisHer, Fierce by MiTu, AJ+, Afro Punk, Tidal, Latina Magazine and many more.

USA || 2017 || 3 MINS