Reflection

Reflection

Francia Márquez is the current Vice President of Colombia but began her activist journey at age 13. Marquez works at the intersection of climate change and societal justice. The Afro-Colombian community she grew up in was often abused and overlooked by the government, but she refused to let her people be the subjects of mass genocide. Oftentimes when we discuss climate change and environmentalism, we focus on the plants and animals of the affected habitats versus the people in those communities, so I wanted to capture someone’s work in environmental justice to show that climate change is affecting people of color and indigenous communities disproportionately. Marquez has had everything going against her. She is a woman living in a black indigenous community, and she lives in the most dangerous country in the world to be an activist; yet her passion and urgency did not waver. Her confidence was infectious and allowed women in her community to join her cause to protect their lands. Marquez’ commitment to having her voice heard is inspiring and goes to prove that anyone passionate and dedicated enough can be listened to and create change. We are often wary to glorify politicians as they can be self-serving, but Vice President Marquez has put the environment as one of her top priorities on her political agenda. I hope Marquez’ story inspires young people who feel discouraged by the lack of representation and constant suppression of voices in the government and invites them to pursue environmental causes they are passionate about, no matter how little power they believe they hold. I chose to create a film because of the pure joy I felt creating countless Barbie stop-motion animation movies with my sister when we were younger. The sense of accomplishment I felt after completing this film was unmatched. This one felt extra special, as I learned so much from this experience and can only hope that I told Francia Márquez' story well.