The film Binnigula’sa’ (Ancient Zapotec People) asks the questions: Who are the rightful custodians of artifacts, and what is the responsibility of museums to local communities?

The cinematic journey in Binnigula’sa’ (Ancient Zapotec People) (2024) begins in the Mexican countryside. Modern civilization — signified by concrete, metal, and powerlines — peeks through the green landscape to reveal a more rigid world of roads, chain-link fences, and poles, the latter eventually dominating the screen. The film tells the story of the accidental discovery of the Cheguigo Monolith, an ancient stone figure, by a 14-year-old boy exploring the countryside in 1960.

Under the pretext of conducting further research, the government quickly relocated the object to the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City, where it remains on display as a treasure of ancient Mexico. At the core of this thoughtful, layered story is the question: Who do museums really serve?

Six decades later, Ta Cándido, who made the discovery, travels to the capital with the filmmaker and friends to reconnect with the monolith. There, he expresses his desire to a local museum official to recover and return it to Oaxaca, where a small museum has already been built to house it alongside other regional archaeological artifacts. He learns that the monolith is not only unlabeled for visitors, but it also lacks the story of its discovery, further alienating those who feel a connection to it.

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