Description of impact
Enhance the connection between grassroots film and social organisations using historical examples of community-building cinema in the following ways:1. Encouraging the use of the website Reversible Archive for community-building activities and increase the network of content creators and users for the website outside Lima.
2. Engaging with the women-led initiatives registered in the films, activating the memory of historical struggles, the rich tradition of women's Indigenous and working-class organisation in Peru, and the community-building potential of Peruvian women's nonfiction film.
The lab program focuses on methods (community archiving, oral history, web design, and Wikipedia entry-making). Moreover, we curate screening programs open to all and public presentations of the website for different audiences (university researchers, film workers' unions, social activists, and archivists).
Who is affected
Film and social organisationsNarrative
1. What was it about?This project aimed to activate films and archival materials that preserve the visual memory of the lives, experiences, and struggles of Indigenous and working-class women in Peru. It sought to create lasting links between grassroots film organisations and women’s groups while enabling women involved in decentralised film and cultural activism to become researchers, curators, and disseminators of this audiovisual heritage.
By placing communities at the centre of the research process, the project promoted more inclusive approaches to cultural memory and challenged the marginalisation of women’s voices within Peru’s audiovisual history.
2. What happened?
The project supported women activists in researching, interpreting, and sharing films and archives connected to women’s histories and social struggles. Through screenings, workshops, public discussions, collective research activities, and community engagement events, these collections were made more visible and accessible to wider audiences. The project generated considerably more activities than originally planned and continued to grow throughout the funding period.
A key outcome was the further development of Archivo Reversible (www.archivoreversible.com), a digital platform designed to preserve, disseminate, and activate audiovisual materials related to women’s and dissident audiovisual practices in Peru. The website functions as a public resource hub, bringing together archival materials, research outputs, interviews, event documentation, educational resources, and information about ongoing projects. Beyond acting as a repository, it provides a space for collaboration between researchers, activists, filmmakers, students, and community organisations, ensuring that the knowledge generated through the project remains accessible to a broad public.
Public engagement was further strengthened through the Instagram account@archivoreversible, which enabled the collective to share archival discoveries, promote events, disseminate research findings, and connect with new audiences in Peru and internationally. Together, the website and social media presence created a sustainable digital infrastructure that continues to support the circulation of the project’s outputs and the growth of its network.
3. Who was involved?
The project brought together grassroots film organisations, Indigenous and working-class women’s groups, cultural activists, researchers, students, and local audiences. Participation expanded significantly during the project: the active collective grew from three to twelve members, increasing its capacity for research, public engagement, and dissemination.
Women activists played a central role as researchers, curators, and public advocates for the preservation and interpretation of audiovisual heritage. Their leadership ensured that the project remained rooted in community knowledge, collaborative research practices, and local priorities.
4. What changed?
The project strengthened participants’ skills in research, curation, archival work, and public communication, enabling them to engage more confidently in public debates as authoritative voices on women’s history and cultural heritage. It also established stronger and more sustainable relationships between film organisations and women’s groups.
The success of the initiative led to additional funding and recognition. Building on the outcomes of the project, the collective secured a grant from the Peruvian Ministry of Culture (DAFO) through the Competition for Research on Cinematography and Audiovisual Media. The follow-on project, Gestos grabados: video realizado por mujeres y disidencias en el Perú entre 1980–2000, was awarded PEN 40,000 (£8,733), enabling the continuation and expansion of research, preservation, and public engagement activities. The website was further developed through this funding, increasing public access to archival resources and project outputs.
The growth of the collective from three to twelve active members significantly increased its organisational capacity and long-term sustainability.
5. Why was it important?
The project preserved and activated an important but often overlooked visual record of women’s lives and struggles in Peru. By placing Indigenous and working-class women at the centre of research and public engagement, it contributed to a more inclusive cultural memory and amplified historically marginalised perspectives.
Importantly, the initiative has continued beyond its initial funding period through ongoing online screenings, talks, workshops, collaborative research activities, and public outreach programmes. The continued development of www.archivoreversible.com and@archivoreversible has ensured that the project’s resources remain freely available and continue to reach new audiences.
The project created a sustainable network of researchers, activists, filmmakers, and cultural practitioners committed to preserving and disseminating audiovisual heritage. Its lasting impact can be seen in the strengthened partnerships, expanded public engagement, increased participation, successful follow-on funding, and the growing recognition of women’s and sexual dissidents contributions to Peru’s audiovisual history.
| Impact status | Open |
|---|---|
| Impact date | 2024 → 2026 |
| Category of impact | Cultural, Creative Impact, Educational Impact (Beyond St Andrews), Social Impact |
| Impact level | Involvement - mid or active stage |