QHAPAC ÑAN
THE GREAT INCA TRAIL

PROJECT OBJECTIVES
We plan to undertake a 2,000 kms trek over the stretch of the Qhapac Ñan that lies between the two big rival capitals of the Inca Empire, Quito (Cuenca – Equator) and Cuzco (Peru).

We will follow the main route of the Inca messengers, the chasquis, which goes through the main memory sites of pre Hispanic civilisations.

THE APPROACH
The myth of the Inca civilisation has nourished our imagination for many years. However, in order to avoid the traditional approach based on the study of the past, we will explore the main pre Hispanic sites of the Inca Empire by focussing on the human dimension. To this purpose, we will ask those persons we come across to guide us along the trail. Some will accompany us physically on our way; others will be symbolic guides providing us with their experiences and memories. Our diary will be based on life stories given to us by the inhabitants themselves. We will manage to get into the sacred, social and cultural dimensions of the Andean civilisation.
This approach will be central to all photographic, audiovisual and editorial projects.

EDITORIAL, JOURNALISTIC AND AUDIOVISUAL OUTCOMES

Press
We will write numerous articles for the press on various subjects: culture, heritage, tourism, religion and society. AKG-images will be our representative in Paris and London.

Book
Our editorial project will be targeted to a broad audience, interested in becoming better acquainted with the Andean culture. Taking the Qhapac Ñan as the leading strand, the book will bring together photographs, texts and recordings of our interviews.

Documentary film
Our documentary film will provide a series of portraits to be made all along the way, as we request the persons we will meet to act as our guides. In this manner they will be the “story-tellers” of their own memories and lives.

Documentary website
The website, to be both of a creative and a journalistic nature, will be witness of the artistic process by combining the various media used during the project (sound, text, images and videos) presented to the internauts in an interactive manner.

Exhibitions in France and Latin America
Photographic exhibitions by the team's photographer.