With part of the activities derived from the UAQ-Fulbright Specialist Program Project, which brought about a collaboration between the Autonomous University of Querétaro (UAQ) and Dr. Marinus L. Otte, professor of Biological Sciences at North Dakota State University (NDSU). , the documentary “Perceptions on Water” (“Water Talks: Perceptions from Sierra Gorda”), produced by Dr. Tatiana Lobato de Magalhães and Dr. Otte, was presented at the North Dakota Human Rights Film Festival, in Fargo, Dakota from North.
According to Dr. Lobato de Magalhães, who works as a researcher at the Faculty of Natural Sciences (FCN) of the entity’s Maximum House of Study, this film work arose after Dr. Otte’s visit to Sierra Gorda in where the perception of various local actors, the aquifer situation of the region and the result of the development of several university actions related to water management and the construction of cisterns for water collection (CEACOM-UAQ projects), among others, were analyzed. .
“They are testimonials from the people of Sierra Gorda, the challenges they have with water, the solutions they are presenting, their vision of the past. For example, several of them had to walk five hours to get it, carry it home, or they swam in places that were clean and now they can’t because they no longer exist, they were destroyed, or they are too polluted, and at the end they talk to us about what the future perspective of water care in this region”, explained the researcher.
Dr. Lobato Magalhães assured that this experience in the mountainous area of Querétaro can help other regions in the world to understand this water problem and have an impact on them, so sharing it was a fundamental part of bringing this film to this important festival. Likewise, she said that it was enriching for her to have attended this event in the city of Fargo and to talk with other filmmakers and the public that attended the presentation.
“For me the experience was very interesting because it is a different way of contacting society in general, I think that as scientists and as an academy, the UAQ and the NDSU also have the commitment to make this connection with people,” said the teacher, who added that, although this work is in Spanish, it has English subtitles.
In this regard, he assured that having participated in this festival —which brought together 39 works from 10 countries— is transcendental for the UAQ, because thanks to all the effort that was made in it, bringing together a great production team and the collaboration of Dr. Marinus L. Otte, a product of excellent academic, research and cinematographic quality was created, not to mention the collaborative ties that were forged with an institution like NDSU.
This project also had the support of the Faculty of Natural Sciences (FCN) and the Liaison Department of the UAQ, as well as the Communication and Media Coordination, the Audiovisual Services Coordination and the UAQ Editorial Fund. Along with the documentary, a book entitled: “Perspectives on the sustainable management of water and wetlands in the Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve, Mexico” and five short films were published. It is also intended to continue this investigation and return to the Sierra to show all this material and what was achieved with it.
“Perceptions on Water” was released in February 2022 and was recently screened at the Cineteca Rosalío Solano in this city; however, it can be viewed directly on the project page https://uaqfulbrightspecialist.weebly.comas well as its English version on the Festival’s own page.
This project had the financial support of the Fund for the Development of Knowledge (UAQ-FONDEC-Vinculación-2021), the Fulbright Specialists Program (FSP-P006854), the Council of Science and Technology of the State of Querétaro (CONCYTEQ-20101436) , the United States-Mexico Commission (COMEXUS) and the NDSU College of Science and Mathematics.