Category: Country/Region
¿Quien Baila Aqui?
A documentary about the Congo or Bantu religion in Cuba.
Cuba, Religion, Social Life and Customs¿Quien Diablos Es Juliette? / Who In The Hell Is Juliette?
Shot in Cuba and the US over a period of three years, this film features remarkable cinematography by first time director Carlos Marcovich. Winner of the Latin American Cinema Prize.
Cuba, Drama, Mexico, Social Issues, Social Movements/Resistance, USA38 Días
A short reflexive documentary about the search and assassination of Fructuoso Rodríguez a revolutionary and communist student leader by supporters of Batista’s Dictatorship. Rodríguez became the leader of the Federación Estudiantil Universitaria, a group of communist students at Universidad de La Habana who directly opposed Fulgencio Batista’s dictatorship in Cuba during the 1950s, after the previous’ leader Jose José Antonio Echeverría assassination. In the documentary, the surviving members of the FEU and Rodriguez’s friends detail the events that lead to his Assassination, focusing on his last 38 days of life soon after becoming the leader of the FEU.
Biography, Cuba, History, Politics/Human Rights, Social Issues, Social Movements/ResistanceA Cor Do Trabalho
The documentary is part of a set of actions developed by Setre since 2007, including the Call for Support to the Solidarity Economy of the African Matrix, whose objective is to permanently strengthen and value the historical roots of black people. According to the state secretary of Labor and Sports, Nilton Vasconcelos, "the documentary records how the union between solidarity and work constituted a force with the power to transform stories and lives of the black population in Bahia, making positive their experiences, surpassing the adversities and serve as examples and references for later generations. " The film encourages young people to dream of a future different from their parents
Brazil, Economics/Development, Politics/Human Rights, Social IssuesA Long Journey To Guadalupe
The mystical story of the Virgen of Guadalupe unfolds as Huan Francisco Urrusti identifies and explores an important aspect of Mexican culture. Through interviews with historians, priests, anthropologists, and psychologists, the role of religious syncretism in Mexican culture is analyzed, explaining the relationship between the collective unconscious and the history of the country.
MexicoA Magia Do Churrasco [Marcos Bassi: The Magic Of Grilling]
For more than four decades, businessman Marcos Bassi surprises us with his creations and knowledge about steaks. With 'A Barbecue Magic' you will learn about choosing the steak, to cutting and preparing the delicious barbecue. Known as the Artisan of the Beef, Marcos Bassi reveals his secrets, highlighting some of his own creations such as Skirt steak and Good-Good steak, in addition to the T-Bone Steak, Wide Beef steak, Bisteca Fiorentina steak, Steak Eye and Whole Picanha.
Biography, Brazil, Culture/Festivals/Food, Social Life and CustomsABORTO SIN PENA
In Mexico, the voices of the woman who have chosen to have an abortion are virtually absent from public debate. Aborto Sin Pena will introduce you to three of these women, from distinct cultural backgrounds. What they say will surprise you.
Health, Mexico, Women's StudiesABRIL DESPAÇADO (BEHIND THE SUN)
The Brazilian badlands, April 1910. Tonho is ordered by his father to avenge the death of his older brother. The young man knows that if he commits this crime, his life will be divided in two: the 20 years he has already lived and the few days he has left to live, before the other family avenges their son's death. He is torn between fulfilling his ancestral duty and rebelling against it, urged by his younger brother Pacu. That's when a tiny traveling circus passes through the vast badlands where Tonho's family lives.
Brazil, DramaAbsences
Lulu's husband and 8-year-old son Brandon disappeared from Monterrey Mexico five years ago when a group of armed men hijacked their car. Though she has heard nothing since that time, Lulu, who now lives alone with her daughter, continues to hope for their return. This short documentary gives her platform to narrate her family's experience, one shared by many in a region plagued by violence.
El Salvador, Mexico, Migration/Immigration, Politics/Human Rights, Social Issues, Women's StudiesACOSADA: DE PIEL DE VIBORA (CORNERED: MADE OUT OF SNAKESKIN)
Eugenia Ramírez, a young dentist, returns home from a congress, only to find that her apartment has been ransacked. Furious, she tries to recover her childhood photo album at any cost, demanding that justice be done. However, she is unaware that this interferes with the interests of a gang of delinquents who turn her into the pursued instead of the pursuer.
Drama, Mexico, Social IssuesAdjusting in Nicaragua: The IMF, World Bank, and Community Development
A documentary about the effects of IMF and World Bank policies on the economy and society of Nicaragua, and the efforts to counteract the negative results of such policies through cooperative and community development efforts. Based primarily on oral interviews with representatives from development agencies.
Economics/Development, Nicaragua, Politics/Human RightsAdorables Mentiras
Enchanting, playful, and outrageous, this film presents two unsuccessful people who each adopt fictional personae in order to escape the doldrums of their daily lives. It is a web of adorable little lies told to brighten their otherwise gray existence creating a complicated and ambivalent love story.
Comedy, CubaAGUAS BAJAN TURBIAS, LAS
Based on the novel of Alfredo Varela, El río oscuro, this film has been called the last great social-folkloric film produced in Argentina before filmmakers turned to nuevo cine, and the cine de liberación in the 1960s
Argentina, DramaAids In The Barrio: Eso No Me Pasa A Mi / This Isn’t Happening To Me
This film by Francis Negrón and Peter Biella examines the impact of AIDS within Hispanic-American communities, focusing on the specific economic, social and cultural factors which influence perception of the AIDS crisis.
Gender/Sexuality, Latinos/Chicanos, Social Issues, USAAJAYU
Death in the Aymara culture is an experience in which the mourners, the community, the souls participate together. Age-old rituals, mixed with Catholic symbols assimilated by the people, frame the story of Andres and his young daughter Leonora. Upon drowning in Lake Titikaka, they must find their way to Korimarca (the Aymara Heaven) with help from the members of the community to which they belonged.
Bolivia, Culture/Festivals/Food, Indigenous Peoples, Social Life and CustomsAL OTRO LADO
Border, Country/Region, Economics/Development, Latinos/Chicanos, Mexico, Migration/Immigration, USAALEIDA GUEVARA REMEMBERS HER FATHER, CHE
Aleida Guevara talks fondly about her father, the world famous Che. Aleida talks about the real Che, separating the myth from the man. This bilingual DVD contains a Spanish language version, and another version in Spanish with English subtitles.
CubaAleijadinho: Passion, Glory and Torment
Part of a two DVD set called "Race and History in Brazil." The other DVD in this set is called "Denying Brazil." ALEIJADINHO: PASSION, GLORY AND TORMENT is a fictionalised drama about the life of 18th-century sculptor Antonio Francisco Lisboa, who was known as Aleijadinho. Born the son of a slave, Lisboa struggles with prejudice, mental illness, and disease but never stops expressing himself through his art.
Art, Brazil, Drama, Social IssuesALGO QUEDA (SOMETHING REMAINS)
Ordinary Nicaraguans narrate the story of 22 turbulent years (1979-2001) in their nation's history, from the triumph of the Sandinistas, to the day they were voted out of office in 1990, to the tumultuous years since. This film, beautifully shot among the wreckage of Nicaragua's disastrous war, the abandoned properties of its old landholders, and the urban slums of Managua, presents the story of Nicaragua from a variety of perspectives.
History, Nicaragua, Social Movements/ResistanceALICIA EN EL PUEBLO DE LAS MARAVILLAS
In this groundbreaking satirical film about the Cuban Revolution, the craziest situations are seen as normal by most of the inhabitants of Wondertown. Alicia, however, struggles to make sense of what is happening around her from the moment she arrives. This film by Daniel Diaz Torres mixes absurdity, humor and horror, and was banned because it was believed to be anti-revolutionary.
Cuba, Drama, Social IssuesALLA LEJOS Y HACE TIEMPO
A moving story about growing up in the pampas, based on the famous autobiographical novel of the same title. Through his deep friendship with an old "gaucho," a boy coming of age becomes fascinated with nature and the mysteries of the human soul.
Argentina, DramaAlmost Brothers / Quase Dois Irmãos
This searing look at the class struggle in Brazil over a period of four decades is told through the closely linked yet fatallz divided lives of Miguel, a middle-class white rebel, and Jorge, his black childhood friend. Remembering their time of imprisonment by the right wing government in the 1960s, Miguel returns as a progressive politician to the prison where Jorge serves a sentence as a gang leader, to seek his help in changing the cycle of death and poverty.
Brazil, Cinema/Theater, Drama, Politics/Human Rights, Social IssuesALPACAS: AN ANDEAN GAMBLE
A documentary about the efforts to bring alpacas, indigenous animals of the Andes who were sacred in Inca culture, to a community in Northern Peru. Populations of alpacas were devastated during the Spanish conquest. The film depicts this cooperative project, which was initiated in the small Andean community and sponsored by the Interamerican Foundation.
Anthropology/Archaeology, Culture/Festivals/Food, Indigenous Peoples, PeruAlsino y el Condor
An allegory about an idealistic ten-year-old peasant who dreams of flying like a condor. He eventually learns to fly when he joins guerrillas fighting in an imaginary Central American country.
Drama, Economics/Development, Nicaragua, Politics/Human Rights, ReligionAmerican Visa
Based on the best-selling novel by Juan De Recacoechea, about a Bolivian high school teacher who is trying to gain entry into the United States to reunite with his son in Miami. Along the way he falls for a beautiful prostitute, while his passion for detective novels encourages him to turn to crime and cross paths with corruption.
Bolivia, Migration/ImmigrationAmericas: Part 1
"The Garden of Forking Paths" This program traces the modern-era development of the nations and national economies of the Americas, with a focus on Argentina that includes the Peron years, the dictatorship of the 1970s and the Malvinas/Falklands War.
Argentina, Economics/Development, History, Latin America, Politics/Human Rights, Social IssuesAmericas: Part 10
"The Americans" The Americans return to the United States to profile California's Mexican-American population and the Latin American and Caribbean communities of Miami and New York City. This final episode poses questions about assimilation, national identity and how these communities are changing what it means to be an American.
Latinos/Chicanos, Migration/Immigration, USAAmericas: Part 2
"Capital Sins" Part of a 10-part PBS series on the western hemisphere, this program examines the trajectory of Brazil's economy from the mid 1960s through the 1980s, spotlighting the methods Brazil's rulers chose to develop that country and how their choices affected the lives of ordinary Brazilians. Beginning with the rapid growth of the late 1960s and 1970s known as the "Brazilian Miracle," it examines the cost of this growth in terms of the repression of the military regime of that period, as well as the growing inequality of the 1970s and the debt crisis of the 1980s. The transition to democratic rule in the 1980s is also covered. Interviews with members of the military regime and its opponents, including current President Luis Ignacio "Lula" Da Silva and politician Benedita Da Silva, complement the documentary's narrative.
Brazil, Economics/Development, History, Latin AmericaAmericas: Part 3
"Continent on the Move" This program examines the causes and effects of one of the most important forces transforming the Americas: the migration of vast numbers of people within the region. The program is set in Mexico, where migration has moved people across borders, and from rural villages to congested cities.
Border, Latin America, Mexico, Migration/ImmigrationAmericas: Part 4
"Mirrors of the Heart" This program explores shifting ethnic and racial definitions in the region, looking at Bolivia, a nation with a rich Indian tradition, and Hispaniola, an island divided between two nations --Haiti and the Dominican Republic-- with different cultural heritages and attitudes toward their African roots.
Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Haiti, Indigenous Peoples, Latin America, Social IssuesAmericas: Part 5
"In Women's Hands" This program set in Chile, examines the changes women of every social class made when they organized during the Pinochet years to create better living conditions for their families.
Chile, History, Latin America, Politics/Human Rights, Women's StudiesAmericas: Part 6
"Miracles are Not Enough" This program travels to Brazil and Nicaragua to observe the explosion of theological debate, social activism and spiritual revival that is changing a region where religion has long played an important role in society and politics.
Brazil, Latin America, Nicaragua, Politics/Human Rights, ReligionAmericas: Part 7
"Builders of Images" This program explores the arts throughout the Americas, celebrating the extraordinary creative ferment that has attracted global acclaim and given rise to a distinct and increasingly influential Latin American and Caribbean artistic voice.
Argentina, Art, Brazil, Latin America, Mexico, Puerto RicoAmericas: Part 8
"Get Up, Stand Up" This program addresses internal and external challenges to sovereignty in the Americas and examines the ways in which the nations of the Americas cope with the dilemma of maintaining economic and cultural sovereignty in the face of strong pressures, both foreign and domestic. The program, set in Colombia, Jamaica and Panama, explores a wide range of threats to sovereignty, from narco-terrorism to foreign intervention.
Colombia, Economics/Development, Jamaica, Latin America, Panama, Politics/Human Rights, Social IssuesAmericas: Part 9
"Fire in the Mind" This program looks at revolutionaries in the region today, with a special emphasis on the former guerrilla fighters in El Salvador and the current movement in Peru, and links these movements to the revolutions in Cuba and Nicaragua.
Cuba, El Salvador, Latin America, Nicaragua, Peru, Politics/Human Rights, Social Movements/ResistanceAmores Perros (Love’s a Bitch)
This film is a bold, intensely emotional, and ambitious story of lives that collide in a Mexico City car crash. Inventively structured as a triptych of overlapping and intersecting narratives, Amores Perros explores the lives of disparate characters who are catapulted into unforeseen dramatic situations.
Drama, Mexico, Social IssuesAnd the Earth Did Not Swallow Him
A moving and powerful portrait of the life of a poor Mexican American boy and his migrant farm worker family, as they struggle to adapt to life in American society. Adapted from the novel "...y no se lo trago la tierra" by Thomas Rivera. Through its many human stories of growing up as a Mexican American the story exposes the rich cultural traditions which have given shape to life in the American Southwest
Drama, Latinos/Chicanos, USAAngel de Fuego
A tragic urban story about the unfortunate life of a 13-year old circus girl in Mexico City. She is expelled from her job when the official of the circus finds out she is pregnant. She meets a troupe of traveling puppeteers preaching the word of God and joins them, eventually entrusting her son to God.
Drama, Mexico, Social Issues, Women's StudiesAnimaquiladora
A collection of mostly hand drawn animation, this film brings to reality a life of toling for the cartoonist. Includes: Why Cybraceros?, Dia de la Independencia, Sign of the Times, Latinos on TV, Mysterious, and Apparitions on Tortillas
Animated, MexicoAntonia
From the Producers of City of God and acclaimed writer/director/producer Tata Amaral comes Antônia, a moving soulfoul look into the lives of four women living on the outskirts of Sao Paulo, Brazil. Determined to escape their poveryy stricken lives, the talented younf women form an all=female rap group but find their road to success is riddled with sexism, racism and violence. One by one, they succumb to their frim realitiews, putting the group's future, and their lifelong friendships, in jeopardy. Until they learn that out of struggle comes strength, and out of strength, the courage to continue on.
Subject: Music/Dance, Social Issues, Drama, Women's Studies
Antonia Pantoja: ¡Presente!
Antonia Pantoja (1922-2002), a black Puerto Rican activist and educator, worked tirelessly on behalf of the youth of her generation. Promoting causes like bilingual education and founding organizations such as ASPIRA and Boricua College, she left an indelible mark on the US educational landscape. This documentary tribute reviews her work and its impact through interviews and archival footage.
Biography, History, Politics/Human Rights, Social Movements/Resistance, USA, Women's StudiesApproach of Dawn
An informative and sensitive documentary that tells the story of Mayan women activists and their courageous fight for indigenous rights in Guatemala. Featuring several outstanding women that are playing an important role in this struggle, including 1992 Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchú.
Anthropology/Archaeology, Guatemala, Indigenous Peoples, Women's StudiesArdiente Paciencia
A young man is in love with the daughter of a local bar owner in a Chilean village. The young man enlists the help of the famous poet Pablo Neruda to woo his beloved.
Biography, Chile, Drama, HistoryArgentina: Growth or Disappearance
This documentary discusses Argentina's current economic crisis by focusing on the effects of neoliberal economic policies implemented in the early 1990s. Subjects such as the "corralito", pesification, devaluation, piqueteros, neighborhood associations, mass movements, occupied factories, and the effects of the crisis on education, and heath care are all covered in this thorough look at present-day Argentina.
Argentina, Economics/DevelopmentArt and Revolution in Mexico
Part I is a documentary dealing with the art of the Mexican revolution as a political movement and a revolution in art. Text by Octavio Paz. Part II examines these monumental creations not only for their great aesthetic value, but also as an essential and fascinating part of Mexico's history. The murals are examples of the marriage of art and political thought. Includes works by Rivera and Siqueiros. Part III is an insight into the elements of the life experiences of Tamayo, a Zapotecan Indian and a famous Mexican painter.
Art, Biography, MexicoArt of Elizabeth Bishop, The
This is a documentary allows the viewer a glimpse into a Brazilian art symposium which celebrates the art and poetry of Elizabeth Bishop. The symposium occurs in Ouro Preto in Minas Gerais. Literary discussions and some presentation material included.
Art, Biography, BrazilAs Américas Têm Cor / The Americas Have Color
"Different skin tones, individual and collective stories. This is the content of the documentary, 'The Americas Have Color: Afro-Descendants in 21st-Century Censuses.' This documentary reconstructs the African Diaspora's ties to the Americas and reveals the censuses' strategic role for advancing the rights of Afro-descendants in Latin America. The documentary was conceived by the 2010 Census Afro-descendant Group, produced by TV Brasil International, and funded by UNIFEM Brazil and Southern Cone, through its Regional Gender, Race, Ethnicity, and Poverty Program." Part of 4-DVD collection, "Coletânea Gênero, Raça e Etnia."
Brazil, Economics/Development, Politics/Human Rights, Social IssuesAsaltar los Cielos / Storm The Skies
The documentary is about Jacques Monard/Ramón Mercader, the KGB agent who assassinated León Trotsky in Mexico. It is an account from the people who knew him during his childhood, and up to and after the crime. This film reconstructs his motivations and his destiny. Starring Elena Poniatowska, Carlos Moniváis, and Guillermo Cabrera Infante.
History, Mexico, Politics/Human Rights, Social Movements/Resistance, SpainAura, El
Espinoza is a shy taxidermist who secretly dreams of executing the perfect robbery. On his first ever hunting trip, in the calm of the Patagonian forest, his dreams become reality when he accidentally kills a man who turns out to be a real criminal and inherits his scheme: the heist of an armored van carrying casino profits. Caught up in a world of complex new rules and frightening violence, Espinoza's lack of experience puts him in real danger. And he has another, more dangerous liability: he is an epileptic. Before each seizure he is visited by the ''aura'': a paradoxical moment of confusion and enlightenment where the past and future seem to blend. Is a world of violence what he really wants and can he actually survive? Nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival.
Argentina, Cinema/Theater, DramaAuto Da Compadecida, O
The lively João Grilo and the sly Chicó are poor guys living in the hinterland who cheat a bunch of people in a small Northeast Brazil town. But when they die, they have to be judged by Christ, the Devil and the Virgin Mary, before they are admitted to paradise.
Brazil, ComedyAzucar Amarga / Bitter Sugar
This visceral, energizing look at contemporary Cuba is an impassioned love story set against the political and economic tensions of Havana. Gustavo, an idealistic young Communist with a glorified vision of the Castro regime, falls in love with Yolanda, a disenchanted dancer who longs to escape to Miami. Despite their radically opposed beliefs, Gustavo and Yolanda are inseparable. The city begins to erupt around Gustavo when his rebellious musician brother injects himself with the AIDS virus in suicidal protest, and his father realizes that he will earn more money as a hotel bar pianist than as a doctor.
Cuba, Drama, Social IssuesBabas
This is a documentary about the history of wet nursing among Brazilian families. The film is a reflection on how it had developed over the years in different contexts throughout the twentieth century, from black slaves nursing white children to mothers hiring a nanny. The film uses subjective narration, autobiographical elements, photographs, domestic footage, and newspaper ads to reflect on how genuine affective relationships are nevertheless influenced by a long-range history of racial oppression in Brazil. This film was donated by Duke University Visiting Instructor Aaron Lorenz.
Brazil, Country/Region, History, Social Issues, Social Life and Customs, SubjectBaile Perfumado
The inhospitable backlands, or sertão, of northeastern Brazil was home to a fearsome group of social bandits - the cangaceiros. Among the most infamous of these outlaws, known by their hats covered with mystic talismans, was the bespectacled Lampião whose depredations became legend in the 1930s. The film portrays the filmmaker and photographer Benjamin Abrahão, a Lebanese immigrant, who captured the elusive bandits with his camera.
Biography, Brazil, Drama, HistoryBajo El Tacaná
Bajo el Tecaná is a short documentary about a group of women migrants, who are interviewed by a group of researchers, before heading to the north. The film takes place in the village of Soconusco, Chiapas on the border between Guatemala and Mexico. Made with the support from Mexican Commission on Human Rights and the OIM ( International Organization for Migration), this film combines text, testimonials and images.
Subject: Border, Migration/Immigration
Balandra Isabel Llegó esta Tarde, La
Adaptation of a story by the Venezuelan writer Guillermo Meneses. A sharp portrait of the lives of blacks, mulattoes and zambos in an urban Venezuelan scenery narrated through the story of a black prostitute in love with a sailor.
VenezuelaBanana Split
A Documentary that delves into the history of the banana. The film starts by explaining the globalization of the banana and its effects on the economy of Honduras. It shows the viewer the hardships and difficulties faced by the common banana workers and their relationship with the fruit corporations.
Economics/Development, Honduras, Social IssuesBaracoa
Baracoa shows the beauty of Baracoa, a municipality of Guantanamo province in Cuba. The film includes footage of the natural environment of Baracoa, the major city, Guantanamo while Cuban music is playing in the background.
Cuba, Environment/Geography, Music/DanceBarrio Cuba
The second in a trilogy, Barrio Cuba tells a trio of stories, all dealing with commonplace Cuban social struggles. Solás and his superior cast pay tribute to the authentic slums of the Havana suburbs, stripping away the sheen of a world previously glamorized by touristy stereotypes.
CubaBarroco
An impressionistic journey through the music of Cuba, Spain and Mexico from pre-Columbian times to the present, on the occasion of the Fifth Centenary of the Conquest.
Art, Cuba, Drama, History, Social IssuesBatalla de Tepoztlan, La
This documentary is not only a chronological description of the controversy between the town and the group KS but a much more complex and critical description. It is a contrast between modernity and backwardness, richness and poverty, and what is legal and what is not in present civilization.
Economics/Development, Mexico, Politics/Human Rights, Social IssuesBay of Pigs
This documentary shows the change in Cuba to its communist regime, and the reaction of the United States, particularly with the CIA's plan of the Bay of Pigs invasion.
Cuba, History, Politics/Human Rights, Social Issues, Social Life and Customs, Social Movements/Resistance, USABefore Night Falls / Antes que anochezca
Episodic look at the life of Cuban poet and novelist, Reynaldo Arenas (1943-1990), from his childhood in Oriente province to his death in New York City. By 1964, he is in Havana where his writing and homosexuality get him into trouble: he spends two years in prison, writing letters for other inmates and smuggling out a novel. He befriends Lázaro Gomes Garriles, with whom he lives stateless and in poverty in Manhattan after leaving Cuba. When asked why he writes, he replies cheerfully, "Revenge."
Cuba, Drama, Gender/Sexuality, Politics/Human Rights, Social Issues, USABella del Alhambra, La
A period musical, based on the novel The Song of Rachel by Miguel Barnet, the film concerns a young woman who uses everyone to attain her dream of being a singer at the Alhambra, Cuba's top burlesque theatre in the 1920's.
Art, Cuba, Drama, HistoryBenedita da Silva
A profile of the first black woman ever to be elected city councilor and member of the Brazilian Parliament from the favelas of Rio de Janeiro. Bene, as she prefers to be called, has lived her entire life in the favelas and worked for twenty-five years as a domestic servant before beginning her public life in 1982, when she won a post as city councilor and was elected a federal MP in 1986. She now devotes her efforts to fighting the racism and discrimination faced by Rio's slum dwellers, and comments from community leaders and residents show the love and respect she has earned.
Brazil, History, Women's StudiesBETTY Y PANCHO
Art, Country/Region, Mexico, Music/Dance, Subject, USABispo Do Rosario
This docudrama about the life and art of the Brazilian artist Arthur Bispo do Rosário takes the artist's imagination as its viewpoint. Bispo spent 50 years in a psychiatric hospital in Rio and his art was almost completely unknown before his death in 1989. He is now considered one of Brazil's most important artists.
Art, Biography, BrazilBlack God, White Devil / Deus E O Diabo Na Terra Do Sol
This richly allegorical film, set amid bandits and prophets in arid Northeastern Brazil of the early twentieth century, is a classic work of cinema novo by one of Brazil's premier directors, Gláuber Rocha.
Brazil, Cinema/Theater, ClassicBlossoms of Fire
This documentary introduces us to the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico, home to an indigenous Zapotec society where gender and sexual preference are a fluid concept. The women dominate the home and businesses, while the men do much of the heavy hauling and seem happy to let women rule. The matriarchy also fosters the area's progressive politics, which include standing up to the PRI and warding off the global market.
Gender/Sexuality, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico, Women's StudiesBoca del Lobo, La
La Boca del Lobo is fiction inspired by the Peruvian army's November 1983 massacre of 47 men, women and children suspected of terrorism. When the news of the massacre came out, the army blamed Shining Path for the atrocities, but one eyewitness testified to the contrary. The movie portrays the moral and emotional disintegration of the members of a small army detachment sent away from any world they know to root out Shining Path missing in a remote mountain village.
Drama, Economics/Development, Peru, Politics/Human Rights, ReligionBoda, La / The Wedding
You are invited to the wedding of Elizabeth and Artemio in Nuevo León, Mexico. The video introduces a young couple whose lives and community have roots in Mexico while they encounter the challenges of migrant life in the United States.
Border, Latinos/Chicanos, Mexico, Migration/Immigration, USABodas de Sangre
An adaptation for ballet by Antonio Gades, Spain's leading ballet and flamenco star, of Federico Garcia Lorca's famous folk tragedy, performed in full costume in a bare Madrid rehearsal hall.
Drama, SpainBoleto al Paraiso
Cuba, 1993. Eunice, a motherless teenager, seeks to escape her father's sexual harassment. So, she seeks out her sister who lives in a town near the capital. Alejandro, a young rock 'n' roll singer, is tired of being discriminated against. And after robbing a pharmacy, he departs for Havana with a pair of friends. Fate intertwines the lives of the two teenagers and they embark on a "ticket to paradise."
Country/Region, Cuba, Gender/Sexuality, Politics/Human Rights, Social Issues, SubjectBolivar Soy Yo
The actor, Santiago Miranda, abandons the set of a soap opera that he thinks fails to illustrate the real vision and dream of Bolívar. Miranda is determined to finish Bolívar's dream of creating the Great Colombia. Wrapped in his own delirium, he kidnaps the President of Colombia and tries to start a revolution. However, Miranda's beloved, Manuelita Saenz, intervenes in his dreams.
Biography, Colombia, Comedy, HistoryBorder Brujo
The acclaimed performance artist Guillermo Gómez-Peña directs himself in this video focusing on issues of cross-culturalism along the U.S.-Mexico border. In his performance he switches in and out of various characters reflecting different aspects of border culture.
Art, Border, Cinema/Theater, Mexico, Migration/Immigration, USABorderline Cases
Nearly 2000 maquiladoras have been built in Mexico by companies from the US, Asia and Europe. As a result, the border has become a 2000 mile-long open sewer, a vast toxic waste dump. Filmed in three border regions, (Matamoros and Brownsville; Tijuana and San Diego; Ciudad Juarez and El Paso), Borderline Cases reveals the complexity and magnitude of the clean-up and gives a sense of energy and imagination found in the diverse mix of people of both countries who are re-thinking traditional notions of borders as they engage in the search for solutions.
Border, Economics/Development, Mexico, Politics/Human Rights, USABorders Trilogy
Borders tells three small stories to illuminate a much larger one: the consequences of a world order in which products freely cross borders that people may not. Borders is a succinct and powerful meditation on the contradictions of U.S. border and trade policy. PART 1: LOVE ON THE LINE: Families divided by the U.S./Mexico border reunite for transnational picnics. PART 2: CONTAINER CITY: The metal containers that bring products to the US make Newark, New Jersey a different kind of bordertown. PART 3: A VISIBLE BORDER: An x-ray image shows the way 21st century workers are responding to borders that are open to products but not to them.
Mexico, Migration/Immigration, USABow Wow
This creative film is shot from the perspective of a German shepherd on the streets of Havana. It is a comic portrayal of the idiosyncrasies, foibles, and hypocrisy of the human species, as seen from the obviously superior point of view of a dog. Interspersed interviews highlight people's strange and excessive behavior toward their pets.
Comedy, CubaBrainstorm
During a track and field meet a meteor strikes a stadium in Cuba, killing roughly 93 people. A round table of journalists has a discussion on the significance of the event, debating what the most important aspects of the event are. The film is a meditation on the role of journalism in contemporary Cuba; a practice that supposedly has to be combative, investigative, and neutral. What, then, is the real role of journalism?
Cuba, Politics/Human Rights, Social IssuesBRAZIL
Brazil, History, Music/DanceBrazil Revealed
With panoramic high-definition photography and intimate storytelling, Discovery Atlas shows you a new way to connect with the world. Transport yourself to another land like never before through the collective vision and personal lives of those who live there. You will look through their eyes, dream with their vision, share in their joys, and conquer their challenges. Join us in an extraordinary journey....
Brazil, Culture/Festivals/Food, History, Social Life and CustomsBrazil: Heart of South America
This film is intended as an introduction to Brazil, for people of all ages.
Brazil, History, Music/DanceBreak of Dawn / Rompe el Alba
Oscar Chavez, a great Mexican singer and actor is the leading actor of this story about the life of Pedro Gonzalez, the host of a radio show in 1930s Los Angeles. His life was filled with romance and music until he challenged a powerful and corrupt political system.
Drama, Latinos/Chicanos, Social Issues, USABrother Towns / Pueblos Hermanos
Brother Towns/Pueblos Hermanos describes the lives of immigrants from Jacaltenango, Guatemala who currently work and reside in Jupiter, Florida. The documentary explores the motives of migration to the United States and the hardships that the Mayan descendants of Jacaltenango face either in Guatemala or in the United States. The documentary also includes the voices of those who have responded to undocumented immigration: those who adamantly oppose it and also the advocates who help migrants acclimate to a new place.”
Subject: Migration/Immigration
Buena Vista Social Club
The German filmmaker Wim Wenders directs a documentary about the Cuban musicians in the group Buena Vista Social Club. This group has toured the U.S. and their albums have been best sellers for months. The elder members have many unique stories to tell from a country that has been sealed off to American citizens for decades.
Cuba, Music/DanceBUENAVISTA VASE, THE: ARCHEOLOGY VS. LOOTING
Anthropology/Archaeology, Art, Indigenous Peoples, Latin America, USABulto, El
El Bulto is a young photographer who is beaten and loses consciousness during a 1971 student protest. He wakes up twenty years later to find a new and different world of computers, new illnesses, and the absence of Communism. His family has also changed, and he is no longer 20 years old. Trying to make up lost time, he learns that his long sleep may have been for the best.
Drama, MexicoBuried Mirror, The. Part 1: The Virgin and The Bull
A co-production of Spanish television and the Smithsonian Institute, this Quincentenary series, narrated by the well known Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes, is an excellent historical analysis and creatively filmed story of the encounter of two worlds in 1492 and the aftermath of this encounter. 5 hours in total, it can be shown separately or individually. In this first installment Fuentes examines the meaning of mestizaje, the mix of people that created Latin America: Spanish, Arab, Jewish, Indian and African.
(five part series)
Buried Mirror, The. Part 2: The Conflict of The Gods
A co-production of Spanish television and the Smithsonian Institute, this Quincentenary series, narrated by the well known Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes, is an excellent historical analysis and creatively filmed story of the encounter of two worlds in 1492 and the aftermath of this encounter. 5 hours in total, it can be shown separately or individually. In part 2 Fuentes retraces the indigenous world through its pyramids and sculptures. The return of their blond, exiled god, Quetzalcoatl, was forecast for the very year Cortes reached its shores.
(five part series)
Buried Mirror, The. Part 3: The Age of Gold
A co-production of Spanish television and the Smithsonian Institute, this Quincentenary series, narrated by the well known Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes, is an excellent historical analysis and creatively filmed story of the encounter of two worlds in 1492 and the aftermath of this encounter. 5 hours in total, it can be shown separately or individually. In the third installment Fuentes highlights the enormous wealth that Spain extracted from its colonies during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. He also highlights the so-called "Columbian exchange" and its effects in the Old World.
(five part series)
Buried Mirror, The. Part 4: The Price of Freedom
A co-production of Spanish television and the Smithsonian Institute, this Quincentenary series, narrated by the well known Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes, is an excellent historical analysis and creatively filmed story of the encounter of two worlds in 1492 and the aftermath of this encounter. 5 hours in total, it can be shown separately or individually. In the fourth part of this series Fuentes focuses on the process and legacy of Latin America's struggle for independence from Spain. Fuentes travels to Mexico and different parts of South America, focusing on historical characters like Miguel Hidalgo, Simón Bolívar, and José de San Martín.
(five part series)
Buried Mirror, The. Part 5: Unfinished Business
A co-production of Spanish television and the Smithsonian Institute, this Quincentenary series, narrated by the well known Mexican novelist Carlos Fuentes, is an excellent historical analysis and creatively filmed story of the encounter of two worlds in 1492 and the aftermath of this encounter. 5 hours in total, it can be shown separately or individually. In this final episode of the series Fuentes explores the pan-Hispanic-American cultures of the present day. pain, Latin America and the Hispanic communities in the United States all have undergone enormous changes. Fuentes comments on the traditions which Hispanic immigrants bring to the US in art, music and dance, respect for family ties distinct hallmarks of the Spanish-speaking world.
(five part series)
Bus 174
In 2000, Sandro do Nascimento, a young man from a poor background, held passengers on a bus hostage for four hours. The event was caught live on television. The movie examines the incident and what life is like in the slums and favelas of Rio de Janeiro and how the criminal justice system in Brazil treats the lower classes. Within the film, Padilha interviews former and current street children, members of the Rio police force, the Rio BOPE police team, family members, and sociologists in order to gain insight into what led Nascimento to carry out the hijacking.
Brazil, Docudrama, Politics/Human Rights, Social IssuesBuscándote Habana / Looking For You, Havana
"Looking For You, Havana" is a documentary that follows a group of undocumented Cubans from the eastern province of Oriente looking for a better life in Havana. Without proper documents allowing them to legally live there, they often set up a home in areas close to the city, building with whatever they can get their hands on--wood, cardboard, sheet metal. These shantytowns, called fanguitos, are similar to Brazil's favelas. Quite often lacking running water and electricity, without proper papers residents are not entitled to medical care or education and, if caught, are deported back to their province
Cuba, Economics/Development, Migration/ImmigrationBye Bye Brasil / Bye Bye Brazil
A small-time traveling sideshow plays over 9,000 miles of backcountry Brazil, a mixture of primitivism and progress. One of the most original and entertaining films of recent years, it is an exotic, entertaining, exuberant, and often very moving film by Carlos Diegues.
Brazil, Classic, ComedyCabeza de Vaca
Freely adopted from the book Naufragios by Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (written in 1542). The film portrays the saga of the adventures of a group of Spanish soldiers in Mexico. Their leader, Cabeza de Vaca, is considered to be one of the first Spaniards to come to some appreciation of the native Indians.
Biography, Drama, History, Indigenous Peoples, MexicoCafé Con Leche: Voices of Exile’s Children
An introspective look at young Cuban-Americans, the now-adult children of the first wave of Cuban exiles that came to the U.S. This documentary focuses on the fusion of traditional, old world values of yesteryear and modern, American culture, as the young Cuban-Americans comment on their experiences growing up bi-culturally.
Cuba, History, Latinos/Chicanos, Social Issues, USACallejón de los Milagros, El (Midaq Alley)
Film adaptation of the Naguib Mahfouz novel. Set in downtown Mexico City, the film portrays three neighbors: Rutilio, whose emerging homosexual orientation destroys his marriage; Susanita, an old maid who falls prey to a thief; and Alma, a virgin (Salma Hayek) who becomes a cocaine addict and prostitute. The film is among the most awarded films of Mexican cinema, having received some 49 international prizes.
Drama, MexicoCamila
Based on a true story from the 1800s, the film relates the tragic story of two young lovers: Camila, from a wealthy traditional family, and a young priest. They both defy family, church, and state in order to pursue their happiness. This is Maria Luisa Bemberg's most acclaimed film, earning an Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Film
Argentina, Classic, Colonial, Drama, HistoryCamino a la Escuela (Walking to School)
Camino a la Escuela shows the journey of six kids and a teacher to the education center in the one of Peru's most highest and iciest points.
PeruCampaign for Cuba
The more than 1 million Cubans that came to the United States fleeing the Cuban Revolution have set up lives for themselves, largely in Miami. The fall of the Soviet Union in the early 1990s left Cuba, and therefore Fidel Castro, vulnerable. In light of the fall, this documentary looks at how Cuban Americans waged their campaign for Cuba in the streets of Miami and boardrooms of Washington D.C.
Cuba, Migration/Immigration, USACananea
Story of the revolt at the American-owned Cananea mine in the years preceding the Mexican revolution. This revolt led to the eventual nationalization of Mexican mines. The film is told from both the miners' viewpoint and the American viewpoint, as personified by Colonel Green, the mine owner.
Drama, History, Mexico, Social Movements/ResistanceCandida Erendira, La
Avant-garde performance art / plays performed by the Buendía theatre group in 1992
Cinema/Theater, CubaCanoa: Memoria de un hecho vergonzoso
One of the first powerful statements about the repression of the student movement in 1968 in Mexico. This documentary-style film depicts the case of five young employees of the Autonomous University of Puebla attacked in the small town of San Miguel Canoa by locals who believed the group consisted of dangerous Communist agitators given the anti-student propaganda circulating at the time. Villagers killed two of the students, and almost burned the remaining three alive.
Drama, History, Mexico, Social IssuesCanudos: Paixão E Guerra No Sertão De Canudos
Produced by Ricardo Gaspar and Selma Santos under the auspices of the University of Bahia and the Brazilian Ministry of Culture, this video depicts the history of the 1897 massacre of thousands of followers of a millenarian movement in the backlands of Northeastern Brazil.
Brazil, HistoryCaracoles: New Paths of Resistance
This is a celebration of the death of the Aguascalientes and the birth of the Caracoles and the Good Government Assemblies. Zapatista leaders discuss how changes will affect internal political and economic processes, gender relations, and their relationship to international civil society. The video is an open call to join the Zapatista communities in their struggle for recognition of their autonomy and in their fight against neo-liberal economic policies and globalization.
Mexico, Social Issues, Social Movements/ResistanceCarandiru
Based on the real life experiences of Doctor Drauzio Varella as a social worker inside the Carandiru state penitentiary in Sao Paulo, the largest correctional facility in Brazil. Hundreds of prisoners live in degrading conditions while an elite group of prisoners rule the actual prison based on their own codes and laws. This rule ends in bloodshed in October 1992 when 300 policemen storm the facility and kill 111 unarmed inmates.
Brazil, Cinema/Theater, Social IssuesCarla’s Song
1987, love in time of war. A bus driver George Lennox meets Carla, a Nicaraguan exile living a precarious, profoundly sad life in Glasgow. Her back is scarred, her boyfriend missing, her family dispersed; she's suicidal. George takes her to Nicaragua to find out what has happened to them and to help her face her past. Once home, Carla's nightmarish memories take over, and Carla and George are thrown into the thick of the US war against the Sandinistas. A mystery develops over where Carla's boyfriend is, and the key to his whereabouts may be Carla's friend Bradley, a bitter American aid worker.
Cinema/Theater, Drama, History, Nicaragua, Politics/Human Rights, Social Movements/ResistanceCarlos Fuentes
An interview with the renowned Mexican novelist for World Monitor--a television presentation of the Christian Science Monitor.
Biography, MexicoCarmen
A modern dance company rehearses a flamenco-ballet version of the Bizet opera, and the principal performers commence living out the scenario in the reality of their own daily lives. It is passionate, pulsating and beautifully danced: Gades is one of Spain's most famous flamenco dancers the former director of the National Ballet.
Drama, SpainCarmen Miranda: Bananas is my Business
This film relates the intimate saga of the star who captured the world's heart and imagination. It reveals the lasting image of Latin American women she created and serves as a celebration of her glorious talents. Using active footage, film fragments, interviews and dramatic re-enactments, acclaimed director Helena Solberg goes behind the scenes to convey the true life story of the "Brazilian Bombshell."
Biography, Brazil, Cinema/Theater, Music/DanceCasa Vieja
Based on the classic Cuban piece The Old House by writer Abelardo Estorino, the film tells the story of Esteban, who returns home after a 14-year absence when he learns of the imminent death of his father. Residing outside of his native Cuba he re-encounters a past that is almost intact. Secrets, old grudges, misunderstandings, and intolerance leave him to stay in a home where time seems to have stood still.
Country/Region, Cuba, Gender/Sexuality, Politics/Human Rights, SubjectCasas de Pablo Neruda, Las
The collections of the poet, the world that surrounds his creative work. This film is an intimate tour of the three houses that Neruda built, accompanied by his words and presence
Chile, LiteratureCaso Pinochet, El / The Pinochet Case
This film investigates the origins and development of the international legal prosecution of former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. It explores how a small group of people in Madrid laid the groundwork for his arrest. After Pinochets arrest by Scotland Yard, the film follows the workings of the British legal system that ensued. The film also movingly incorporates the stories of many Chileans who traveled to Madrid to testify, including relatives of the disappeared and others who survived horrifying torture in secret prisons.
Chile, History, Politics/Human Rights, Social IssuesCastillo de la Pureza, El
An educated man tries to keep his family closed off from the outside world while he goes mad from the ideologies contained in books. The film is based on a true story related to the suppression of the student movement in Mexico in 1968.
Drama, MexicoCastro Pacheco, El Artista
Part of the series "Races and Expressions of the Yucatán" produced by the Autonomous University of the Yucatán. This film portrays Yucatan culture through the paintings of Fernando Castro Pacheco, the Yucatán's most celebrated painter.
Art, MexicoCecilia
Loosely based on the classic nineteenth-century Cuban novel, Cecilia Valdéz by Cirilo Villaverde. The movie is a reflection on the birth of Cuban nationality. A beautiful mestizo woman struggles to become a part of the world of the white aristocracy. She chooses Leonardo to accomplish her goals. Their tortuous passion is juxtaposed against the emergence of the nation and the struggle for independence.
Cuba, Drama, HistoryCelebrating Cinco de Mayo
This educational video aimed at children is separated into three sections. The first section explains what Cinco de Mayo is, why it is celebrated and its importance. The second section talks about the history of Cinco de Mayo. The third section talks about how the holiday is celebrated. It includes music, arts and crafts, food, parades and general festivities that take place on Cinco de Mayo.
Cuba, Drama, HistoryCENTRAL AMERICA CLOSE-UP
El Salvador, Guatemala, Social Life and CustomsCentral Do Brasil / Central Station
One of Brazil's most acclaimed films and winner of a Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film. Inside Rio de Janeiro's Central Station, two very unlikely souls are about to become inextricably linked. When a young boy witnesses his mother's accidental death, a lonely retired schoolteacher reluctantly takes the child under her wing.
Brazil, DramaChac, The Rain God
This film, based on ritual and legends from the Popul Vuh, as well as Tzeltal and Mayan stories, and shot in the Chiapas region of Mexico, focuses on a small Tzeltal village during a terrible draught. Desperate for relief, thirteen men set out on a quest to save their people from starvation.
Indigenous Peoples, MexicoChacotero Sentimental, El
This film centers around a young and eccentric radio show host who has a successful program on the air. His anonymous callers tell their stories of love, entanglements, misunderstandings and passionate affairs.
Chile, Comedy, DramaChavez, Venezuela and the New Latin America
In 2004, Aleida Guevara conducted an exclusive interview with Hugo Chavez, president of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, exploring Venezuela's explosive revolutionary terrain post-April 2002 – when Chavez survived a coup attempt instigated by the United States. Featuring an interview with Jorge Garcia Carneiro, head of the Venezuelan Armed Forces, and with Venezuelans involved in the country's many social programs, this film affords a rare opportunity to glimpse through the blockade of information imposed by the United States and into a country rich with hope, dreams and oil. Chávez, Venezuela and the New Latin America" provides a unique insight into the changing political atmosphere in Latin America.
Politics/Human Rights, VenezuelaChe, Part I: El Argentino
Based on Ernesto "Che" Guevara's memoir Reminiscences of the Cuban Revolutionary War, this film constitutes part 1 of the two part series directed by Steven Soderbergh on the life of this iconic hero of the Cuban revolution. While focusing on Guevara's role in the guerrilla campaign that begins in the Sierra Maestra and ultimately ousts Fulgencio Batista from power, the movie also splices in scenes depicting Guevara's visit to the United Nations and audio re-creation of an interview that presents some of Guevara's political philosophies and thoughts on being a revolutionary. The film portrays the personal dynamics of his relationship with Fidel Castro, Camilo Cienfuegos, and other anti-Batista activists during the war, Guevara's leadership style as reflected in his efforts to maintain discipline in the rebel army, and the final military campaign that culminates in the capture of the city of Santa Clara and the flight of Batista from the country.
Biography, Cuba, History, Latin AmericaChe, Part II: Guerrilla
Part two of Stephen Soderbergh's chronicle of the revolutionary activities of Ernesto "Che" Guevara examines Guevara's attempts to start a revolutionary guerrilla movement in the jungles of Bolivia. Beginning with his arrival in Bolivia under a false identity, the film traces the factors which result in ultimate failure, as well Guevara's untimely demise. Efforts to attract the support of Bolivian peasantry ultimately fail as Che's band is unable to convince the peasants that supporting them is in their best interests. The insurgency effort becomes more and more desperate as the Bolivian military, with the support of the United States, steadily gains the upper hand in its attempts to quell the rebellion.
Bolivia, Cuba, Docudrama, HistoryChe: The Bolivian Diary
On October 9, 1967, Che Guevara was executed by the Bolivian army, aided by the CIA. Ches diary, a detailed, personal account of his futile 11-month attempt to spark a revolution in Bolivia, is the basis of this intimate filmed portrait.
Bolivia, History, Social Movements/ResistanceChiapas: El Sureste En Dos Vientos
This video describes Chiapas through the eye of Subcomandante I. Marcos from the Selva la Candona, August 1992. It is a journey into the region where 3.5 million Chapanescos live, describing their living conditions, and their movement for peace and justice. Text by Subcomandante I. Marcos.
Mexico, Social Movements/ResistanceChicana
Made by Sylvia Morales. Chicana traces the history of Chicana and Mexican women from pre-Columbian times to the present. It covers women's role in Aztec society, their participation in the 1810 struggle for Mexican independence, their involvement in the US labor strikes in 1872, their contributions to the 1910 Mexican revolution and their leadership in contemporary civil rights causes. A classic film by a leading Latina filmmaker.
Latinos/Chicanos, Mexico, USA, Women's StudiesChigualeros
Chigualeros is a documentary about one of the most famous orchestras in Ecuador. Chigualeros, founded almost three decades agos , fuses different sounds like son, marimba, guaracha, currulao, bolero, and the chigualo. Like many parts of Latin America, Ecuador has an African history that is evoked through the mix of sounds in the Chigualeros.The documentary presents the lives of the members of the group while also exploring the deforestation of the tropical forests of the region.
Ecuador, Environment/Geography, History, Music/DanceChild of the Dark
Back in the 1960s, Carolina María de Jesus became famous in Brazil after publishing her diary Child of the Dark. In this video, the director Robert Levine introduces this book about the daily life of poor people in Brazil, using images (mainly pictures and pieces of art) of the favelas. Note: This video doesnt have very good sound quality.
Brazil, Literature, Social IssuesChile, la alegria ya viene
Documentary on the political situation before the Chilean plebiscite made for Chilean TV. Filmocentro Distribución Ltda., Chile.
Chile, HistoryChile: Memoria Obstinada / Chile: Obstinate Memory
Chile, Obstinate Memory visits with Chileans who experienced Augusto Pinochets coup first-hand. Survivors reminisce as they watch Patricio Guzmáns film The Battle of Chile, recognizing lost comrades and recalling their courage, gaiety, and love of life. Those who were not killed during the coup itself were crowded into the National Stadium in Santiago, where many were tortured, disappeared, and never seen again. Survivors talk about the terror that characterized the Pinochet regime until the dictator was finally obliged to relinquish power.
Chile, History, Politics/Human Rights, Social Movements/ResistanceChocolate: Pathway To The Gods
Our universal passion for chocolate goes back over 3,000 years. This documentary explores the history of this divine substance through artifacts, ritual, and obsession; and takes the viewer on a journey from ancient Mesoamerica to Europe's finest chocolate houses. It is the first documentary of a series focusing on four ritual foods of the Americas: chocolate, tequila, corn and potatoes. Produced by Archeo Productions.
Anthropology/Archaeology, Culture/Festivals/Food, Latin AmericaChulas Fronteras y Del Mero Corazon
Documentary films of the borderland between Texas and Mexico. Norteña music filled with the poetry of daily life-love songs, passion, death, humor, and loss is explored from dancehalls, small towns, and family gatherings.
Cinema/Theater, Latinos/Chicanos, Mexico, Music/Dance, USACidade Baixa / The Lower City
Deco and Naldinho are best friends in a constant struggle to earn an honest living in the gritty world of Salvador de Bahia's Lower City. When a beautiful prostitute named Karina asks to hitch a ride, the twosome quickly becomes a threesome. To survive life in the Lower City, the trio must learn to accept each other as lovers, friends and enemies.
Brazil, Drama, Social IssuesCidade De Deus / City Of God
In the midst of the streets of the world's most notorious slum, Rio de Janeiro's "City of God," a frail and scared young boy will grow up to discover that he can view the harsh realities of his surroundings with a different eye: the eye of an artist. In the face of impossible odds, his brave ambition to become a professional photographer becomes a window into his world and ultimately his way out.
Brazil, Drama, Social IssuesCien Niños Esperando Un Tren
Critically acclaimed film about a cinema workshop that works with poor children in the slums, many of whom have never seen a film before, to understand cinema as a mode of expression.
Chile, History, Social Movements/ResistanceCimarron
This film describes the story of Esteban, a Cuban who lived through slavery and the War of Independence, through the eyes of Miguel Barnet. Esteban Montejo, a 105- year old, who lived through beatings and the cruelty of slavery recounts his story of how his African roots were grounded in the Caribbean. Barnet describes his experience of interviewing and getting to know an extraordinary man like Esteban.
Cuba, History, Politics/Human RightsCINDERELAS, LOBOS, E PRINCIPE ENCANTADO
Brazil, Gender/Sexuality, Migration/Immigration, TravelCinderelas, Lobos, E Principe Encantado
A documentary about the Brazilian sex trade, Cinderelas, Lobos, e Principe Encantado explores how poor Brazilian women, mostly black, are lured by middle-aged European men into traveling to Europe with them. European, American, or Canadian men feel that European, American, or Canadian women are too cold and unsensible while the Brazilian women look for the security and freedom that Brazilian men cannot provide. The documentary interviews Brazilian women who were previously sex workers and have now moved to Europe with white men.
Brazil, Gender/Sexuality, Migration/Immigration, TravelCine Mambembe / Cinema Discovers Brazil
A pair of filmmakers journey to the interior of Brazil, screening short films to audiences in town squares. From Bahía to the Amazon, they discover a vast country going to the movies, seeing themselves on the big screen for the first time.
Brazil, Cinema/Theater, Social IssuesCineastas Indígenas 1: Kuikuro
This 3-part collection includes six films produced by Indigenous filmmakers Kuikuro, Huni Kui and Panara. Part I includes: Imbé Gikegü, Cheiro de pequi (2006, 36 minutes) and Nguné Elü, O dia em que a lua menstruou (2004, 28 min) by Kuikuro.
Part II includes: Xinã Bena, Novos tempos (2006, 52 min) and Huni Meka: Os Cantos do cipo (2006, 25 min) by Hunikui. Part III includes: Kiarãsâ Yõ Sâty, O amendoim da cutia (2005, 52 min) and Prîara Jõ, Depois do ovo, a Guerra (2008, 15 min) by Panará.
Anthropology/Archaeology, Brazil, History, Indigenous Peoples, Social Issues, Social Life and CustomsCineastas Indígenas 2: Huni Kuí
This 3-part collection includes six films produced by Indigenous filmmakers Kuikuro, Huni Kui and Panara. Part I includes: Imbé Gikegü, Cheiro de pequi (2006, 36 minutes) and Nguné Elü, O dia em que a lua menstruou (2004, 28 min) by Kuikuro.
Part II includes: Xinã Bena, Novos tempos (2006, 52 min) and Huni Meka: Os Cantos do cipo (2006, 25 min) by Hunikui.
Part III includes: Kiarãsâ Yõ Sâty, O amendoim da cutia (2005, 52 min) and Prîara Jõ, Depois do ovo, a Guerra (2008, 15 min) by Panará.
Anthropology/Archaeology, Brazil, History, Indigenous Peoples, Social Issues, Social Life and CustomsCineastas Indígenas 3: Panaráí
This 3-part collection includes six films produced by Indigenous filmmakers Kuikuro, Huni Kui and Panara. Part I includes: Imbé Gikegü, Cheiro de pequi (2006, 36 minutes) and Nguné Elü, O dia em que a lua menstruou (2004, 28 min) by Kuikuro. Part II includes: Xinã Bena, Novos tempos (2006, 52 min) and Huni Meka: Os Cantos do cipo (2006, 25 min) by Hunikui.
Part III includes: Kiarãsâ Yõ Sâty, O amendoim da cutia (2005, 52 min) and Prîara Jõ, Depois do ovo, a Guerra (2008, 15 min) by Panará.
Anthropology/Archaeology, Brazil, History, Indigenous Peoples, Social Issues, Social Life and CustomsCINEMA, ASPIRINS AND VULTURES
Brazil, HistoryCinema, Aspirins And Vultures
In 1942, Johann, a lonely German, travels through the Northeast of Brazil in his truck selling aspirins in small villages, using advertisement movies to promote the medicine. He meets and befriends a drifter but later must make a life changing decision between homeland and friends.
Brazil, HistoryCities Of The Ancient Mayas
This is a documentary by the Educational Video Network about ancient Maya society. This is intended for younger audiences.
Anthropology/Archaeology, Indigenous Peoples, Latin AmericaCity of Men
Two lifelong friends raised amidst the turmoil of Rio de Janeiro's notorious Pool Hall Hill attempt to navigate the treacherous maze of adulthood after celebrating their 18th birthdays and becoming caught up in the city's endless cycle of violence in director Paulo Morelli's companion piece to the Golden Globe-winning drama City of God. Laranjinha and Acerola may not be bound by blood, but these childhood friends are closer to one another than most brothers. While their friendship has gone a long way in helping them both to cope with the strife that surrounds them, the hard truth is that they will both have to fend for themselves now that they've entered into adulthood. For Laranjinha, entering this stage in life means finding his long-lost father; for Acerola it means finally taking responsibility for his growing family. Now, as Laranjinha's cousin, quick-tempered local drug lord Madrugadão (Jonathan Haagensen), finds his power threatened by his former right-hand man Nefasto (Eduardo BR Piranha), it quickly becomes apparent that a formidable war is brewing in the poverty-stricken shantytown. The brother of Laranjinha's girlfriend, Camila (Naima Silva), looks to be a key component in this battle, threatening to draw a neutral man into a deadly confrontation. Meanwhile, Acerola's wife, Cris (Camila Monteiro), is threatening to move to S?o Paolo so that her family won't be consumed by the violence that has torn apart so many families before.
Anthropology/Archaeology, Brazil, Drama, Politics/Human Rights, Social IssuesCiudad De Mexico Imaginada Por Los Viajeros, La
One could never admit to having seen enough of Mexico City." This innovative documentary is a collection of photographic images from Mexico City newspapers of the last ten years which people who travel through Mexico City daily identify as those which best typified the City. Using Nahuatl texts from Montezuma and, the poetry and music of Jim Morrison, the video explores the history of the use of Mexico City by its inhabitants. A collaboration by Nestor García Canclini and researchers at UNAM.
Mexico, Social Issues, Social Life and CustomsCiudad En Rojo / City In Red
This feature-length film deals with 24 hours in the life of Santiago de Cuba, one of the main supply cities of the rebels led by Fidel Castro and of underground urban action perpetrated by the rebel and clandestine 26th of July Movement. Taking place in 1959, the movie narrates how escalating violence bursts out in the tranquil life of people and different social groups in the city. First-time director Rebeca Chávez participated in the clandestine struggle in her teenage years and has characterized the film as "a reflection on violence."
Cuba, Drama, History, Social Issues, Social Movements/ResistanceCiudad Y Los Perros, La
A story about how cadets rebelling against authority in a military academy end up forming a junta with its own hierarchy and rules. Based on the novel by Mario Vargas Llosa.
Drama, Peru, Social Movements/ResistanceCivilizadores: Alemanes En Guatemala, Los
German colonizers dominated many coffee estates in Guatemala during the early twentieth century. This documentary takes us through the old coffee baron's plantations, and examines a new generation of entrepreneurs in key posts within the government behind anonymous company names. Maya peoples continue to contest the concentration of land, and military and police abuse.
Guatemala, History, Social IssuesCocalero
An intimate portrait of the historic electoral campaign that made Evo Morales the first indigenous president of Bolivia. Through direct personal access to Morales, the filmmakers document his interactions with the union of Coca growers who formed his initial political base, the day-to-day management of the campaign, and attempts to educate voters about the electoral process. The film also explores connections between Morales and other leaders of the New Left in Latin America, as well as the conflicting views about his candidacy among more affluent Bolivians.
Bolivia, Indigenous Peoples, Politics/Human RightsColección De Cortometrajes Mexicanos: Vol. 1
This collection of short films is part of the series Corto metraje, más que un instante from IMCINE and CinemaFilms. This original series showcases 51 short films by up and coming Mexican directors, cinematographers and actors. The films touch on a variety of subjects, people, and lifestyles. Some are comical, some are sad, and some are thought provoking. All of these films are very useful for Spanish Language classes. This specific volume contains the following films: La suerte de la fea a la bonita no le importa; Benjamín; Adiós mama; Noche de bodas; Espías en la ciudad; Sr. X; Hombre que no escucha boleros; Pasajera; Ligerita.
History, Mexico, Social Issues, Women's StudiesColección De Cortometrajes Mexicanos: Vol. 2
This collection of short films is part of the series Corto metraje, más que un instante from IMCINE and CinemaFilms. This original series showcases 51 short films by up and coming Mexican directors, cinematographers and actors. The films touch on a variety of subjects, people, and lifestyles. Some are comical, some are sad, and some are thought provoking. All of these films are very useful for Spanish Language classes. This specific volume contains the following films: De mesmer, con amor ó té para dos; Sístole diástole; El agujero negro del sol; ¿Que hora es?; El milagro; De jasmín en flor.
Gender/Sexuality, Mexico, Social Issues, Women's StudiesColección De Cortometrajes Mexicanos: Vol. 3
This collection of short films is part of the series Corto metraje, más que un instante from IMCINE and CinemaFilms. This original series showcases 51 short films by up and coming Mexican directors, cinematographers and actors. The films touch on a variety of subjects, people, and lifestyles. Some are comical, some are sad, and some are thought provoking. All of these films are very useful for Spanish Language classes. This specific volume contains the following films: La maceta; La historia de I y O; Sus demonios; A la otra; Circuito interior; El columpio del diablo; Gertrudis Blues.
Gender/Sexuality, Mexico, Social Issues, Women's StudiesColección De Cortometrajes Mexicanos: Vol. 4
This collection of short films is part of the series Corto metraje, más que un instante from IMCINE and CinemaFilms. This original series showcases 51 short films by up and coming Mexican directors, cinematographers and actors. The films touch on a variety of subjects, people, and lifestyles. Some are comical, some are sad, and some are thought provoking. All of these films are very useful for Spanish Language classes. This specific volume contains the following films: Azar; Rogelio; Ponchada; E pur si muove; Me voy a escapar; Una bala; Malos presagios; Peor es nada; El pez dorado; Juego de niños.
Gender/Sexuality, Mexico, Social Issues, Women's StudiesColección De Cortometrajes Mexicanos: Vol. 5
This collection of short films is part of the series Cortometraje, más que un instante from IMCINE and CinemaFilms. This original series showcases 51 short films by up and coming Mexican directors, cinematographers and actors. The films touch on a variety of subjects, people, and lifestyles. Some are comical, some are sad, and some are thought provoking. All of these films are very useful for Spanish Language classes. This specific volume contains the following films: ¿Qué me va a hacer?; Cita en el paraíso; Otoñal; Malos hábitos; El árbol de la música; El valor de la amistad; Brusco despertar; La cumbre; Mantis religiosa.
Gender/Sexuality, Mexico, Social Issues, Women's StudiesColección De Cortometrajes Mexicanos: Vol. 6
This collection of short films is part of the series Corto metraje, más que un instante from IMCINE and CinemaFilms. This original series showcases 51 short films by up and coming Mexican directors, cinematographers and actors. The films touch on a variety of subjects, people, and lifestyles. Some are comical, some are sad, and some are thought provoking. All of these films are very useful for Spanish Language classes. This specific volume contains the following films: Veneno; La tarde de un matrimonio de clase media; Lávelo y úselo; Un arreglo civilizado para el divorcio; Día de suerte; Encrucijada; El héroe; Contratiempo; El excusado; Pronto saldremos del problema.
Gender/Sexuality, Mexico, Social Issues, Women's StudiesColombia Magia Salvaje
Showcasing the country's biodiversity, revealing the scenic vistas and native wildlife of Colombia's beautiful -- but fragile ecosystem.
Colombia, Environment/GeographyColores De Rufino, Los
This video is part of a series that seeks to provide developmental and educational materials that engage the cultural heritage of Latin America. Los Colores de Rufino teaches about colors while exploring the work and words of Mexican artist Rufino Tamayo as well as the poetry of Alfonso Reyes and Sor Juana Inez de la Cruz.
Art, MexicoColumbus Didn’t Discover Us
This documentary features interviews with indigenous activists from North, South, and Central America who gathered at the First Contintental Conference of Indigenous Peoples in July of 1990. Native people speak about the impact on their cultures of the Columbus legacy, contemporary struggles over land and human rights, the importance of reviving spiritual traditions, and the need to alert the world to environmental crises.
Indigenous Peoples, Latin AmericaComo Agua Para Chocolate
From the literary world of magic realism, this award-winning film adapted from the book by the same title chronicles life in Mexico near the Texas border in the early twentieth century. Unrequited passions, changing political situations and even madness emerge in this highly entertaining and endearing story. The cooking scenes and the portraits of food are spectacular, as are the romantic scenes.
Drama, Gender/Sexuality, Mexico, Social Life and Customs, Women's StudiesComo Era Gostoso o Meu Francês / How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman
This delicious black comedy, set in the jungles of Brazil, tells the story of a French explorer who in vain tries to be accepted by the tribe of cannibals who has captured him.
Brazil, Drama, HistoryComunidades De Paz
In the late 1990s and early 2000s the internal conflict in Colombia between the government, military groups and armed forces displaced many communities, mainly made up of peasant farmers. These farmers were forced to leave their homes. This documentary follows the stories and lives of some of the people from San Francisco de Asis. It lets us into their personal thoughts and opinions on the conflict, war, and their way of life.
Colombia, Politics/Human RightsConfesion a Laura
An emotionally gut-wrenching drama from Colombia set during a violent civil war which occurred after the assassination of liberal leader Jorge Gaitán in 1948. Three people are trapped in Laura's house during the Bogotazo riots, setting the scene for an unforgettable night.
Colombia, DramaConjura de Aponte, La
With the help of two important Cuban historians, La Conjura de Aponte describes the social context at the time of Jose Antonio Aponte’s rebellion against Spanish rule in Cuba. Aponte, a free black, sought to unite slaves and free blacks in order to stop Spanish rule.
Biography, Country/Region, Cuba, History, Social Issues, SubjectConquistadors Part I
The conquest of the New World in less than 50 years is one of history's most profound events--and remains one of its greatest adventures. British historian Michael Wood captures the bravery, endurance, greed, cruelty, and suffering involved in these 16th-century explorations. Wood turns his attention to the Americas to follow four amazing tales: Cortes' dramatic conquest of the Aztecs in Mexico; Pizarro's daring overthrow of the Incas in Peru; Orellana's obsessive search for El Dorado and discovery of the Amazon; and Cabeza de Vaca's pivotal crossing of the North American continent. Great Britain/Latin America.
Biography, History, Indigenous Peoples, Latin AmericaConquistadors Part II
The conquest of the New World in less than 50 years is one of history's most profound events--and remains one of its greates adventures. British historian Michael Wood captures the bravery, endurance, greed, cruelty, and suffering involved in these 16th-century explorations. Wood turns his attention to the Americas to follow four amazing tales: Cortes' dramatic conquest of the Aztecs in Mexico; Pizarro's daring overthrow of the Incas in Peru; Orellana's obsessive search for El Dorado and discovery of the Amazon; and Cabeza de Vaca's pivotal crossing of the North American continent. Great Britain/Latin America.
Biography, History, Indigenous Peoples, Latin AmericaCooperative Without Borders, A
This informative piece begins with a presentation of the struggle of Mexican men crossing the U.S. border in search for better economic opportunities. It narrates the crossing of U.S. border in search for better opportunities. It narrates the creation and accomplishments of the Cooperativa sin Fronteras, a fund for economic development. Through this fund money is transferred from employers of migrant workers in Arizona to create and encourage the economic development necessary for the amelioration of conditions in 6 Mexican states. In this way, the Cooperative strives to reduce the problem of illegal migration to the United States. Inter-American Foundation.
Economics/Development, Mexico, USACoração Do Samba
This is a musical documentary about the contagious rhythm of the samba schools' batteries, their origin, instruments, the different suits and their evolution.
Anthropology/Archaeology, Brazil, Music/Dance, Social Life and CustomsCorazon Indio
Part of a video series of the Taller Miradas Antroplogicas, which seeks to recognize the indigenous peoples of Mexico and their participation in Mexican society. This episode documents the presence of indigenous youth in university life.
Indigenous Peoples, Mexico, Social Life and CustomsCORAZON SANGRANTE / CUERPOS DE PAPEL
Gender/Sexuality, Mexico, Music/Dance, Religion, Women's StudiesCorazon Sangrante / Cuerpos De Papel
Corazon Sangrante is a short film that uses various mythic elements of gender - the sacred heart, saints, la china poblana - all set to the music of an old Mexican ballad. Cuerpos de Papel, also set to music, explores the relationship between two lesbians.
Gender/Sexuality, Mexico, Music/Dance, Religion, Women's StudiesCoronación / Coronation
A beautifully photographed and haunting tale of obsession and repressed desire played out against the backdrop of a decaying mansion in Santiago. Glum, middle-aged bachelor Don Andres hires Estela, a 17-year old country girl, to care for his wealthy and abusive grandmother. He grows increasingly obsessed with her, blinding himself to the threats around him and his own mental breakdown. Based on the novel by Jose Donoso.
Chile, Drama, LiteratureCosas Que Deje En La Habana
Nena, Rosa and Ludmilla are three Cuban sisters that arrive in Madrid looking for a better life than the one they left behind in Havana. Their aunt, Maria, has lived in Spain for many years and has a business in which she intents to exploit her nieces for a roof to live in. A whole world of conflicts, deceits and comical situations face them, soon realizing that Madrid is not the paradise they intended to find.
Drama, SpainCouple In The Cage
This film documents the traveling performance of Guillermo Gómez-Peña and Coco Fusco, in which they exhibit themselves as caged Amerindians from an imaginary island, providing a vivid and provocative interpretation of cultural encounters.
Anthropology/Archaeology, Art, Cinema/Theater, Latinos/Chicanos, USACracking the Maya Code
This documentary tells the story of how, after centuries of inaccessibility, the Mayan hieroglyphics were finally decoded by archaeologists. Through many discoveries by people of all ages, including Michael Coe and David Stuart, the Mayan Civilization is brought to life during this fascinating account of how the Mayan "code" was cracked, and the ways in which this newly available script has reshaped our understanding of Mayan civilization.
Colonial, Guatemala, History, Indigenous Peoples, MexicoCrimen del Padre Amaro, El
Father Amaro is a new priest assigned to the small rural town of Los Reyes, Mexico. He soon discovers that a conspiracy of corruption, sex, and lies has consumed the local parishes. Though he tries to resist falling into the corrupt actions of his colleagues, temptation eventually draws him in.
Drama, Mexico, ReligionCrise Financeira: O Que Pensam A Juventude Brasileira E As Trabalhadoras Domésticas…?
Financial Crisis: Latin American Youth and Women Domestic Workers' Views" interviews young people and domestic workers about the global financial crisis of 2008-present. Interviewees offer their opinions about the roots of the crisis and offer solutions. Part of 4-DVD collection, "Coletânea Gênero, Raça e Etnia."
Subject: Economics/Development, Social Issues
Cronos
An ingenious alchemist creates a device that grants him eternal life. Four hundred years later an elderly antique dealer discovers the properties of this unique invention. Though he grows younger every time he uses the device, there is a terrible price to pay.
Drama, MexicoCrosses / Cruces
In 1995, the U.S. Border Patrol instituted Operation Gatekeeper, which has caused the death of about 1800 migrants since its implementation. CROSSES documents the efforts of artists and activists to bring the disastrous effects of Operation Gatekeeper to the conscience of the people of both the U.S. and Mexico, and to pressure the governments of both countries. By representing every death with a cross bearing the name of the victim, mounted directly on the border wall, they keep the issues alive. Crosses are still visible today.
Border, Mexico, Migration/Immigration, USACruceros y Caminos
Like many communities across the Southeast, the town of Clinton, North Carolina, has become home to a vibrant and growing Spanish-speaking community. This diverse community of newcomers, who are attracted to the area by jobs in the agriculture and livestock industries, are struggling to honor their cultural and religious identities while making new lives. This short video documentary, made by a graduate student from UNC- Greensboro in collaboration with Clinton's Immaculate Conception Church and local Latino leaders, consists of still and moving images of community meetings, religious ceremonies, and cultural festivals which are narrated by a mosaic of voices from the community.
Latinos/Chicanos, Literature, Migration/Immigration, USACrude
One of the largest and most controversial legal cases on the planet. An inside look at the infamous $27 billion "Amazon Chernobyl" case, CRUDE is a real-life high stakes legal drama set against a backdrop of the environmental movement, global politics, celebrity activism, human rights advocacy, the media, multinational corporate power, and rapidly-disappearing indigenous cultures. Presenting a complex situation from multiple viewpoints, the film examines a complicated situation from several angles while bringing a story of environmental peril and human suffering into focus.
EcuadorCuba : an African Odyssey
Cuba: an African Odyssey is a documentary of Cuba’s central, yet little known, role in supporting African national liberation during the Cold War. This two-part DVD firsts deals mainly with Cuba’s involvement in the Congo in the early 60’s and the second with Cuba’s intervention in Angola in the 70’s to early 90’s. Directed by Jihan El-Tahri, the documentary also includes interviews with many of the powerful people involved including Pik Botha and Fidel Castro.
Country/Region, Cuba, History, Politics/Human Rights, SubjectCuba 15
With passion and uncertainty, Tzunami, a small-town Cuban girl prepares for her quinceañera. The celebration is for her fifteen birthday –the official crossroads between innocence and maturity. This short film won nine international film awards, including the 1998 Berlin Jury Prize for the best short film.
Cuba, Social Life and CustomsCuba Mia: Portrait of an all Woman Orchestra
This documentary introduces a most unusual and talented musical group, the Camerata Romeu, an extraordinary all-female classical musical ensemble from Havana, Cuba. The video combines performance, interviews, and documentary footage of the musicians' personal lives.
Cuba, Music/Dance, Women's StudiesCuba Va: The Challenge of the Next Generation
A fast paced weaving of sound bites and interviews that lets young Cubans speak and argue for themselves. What they have to say or sing or rap suggests that everyone born after the revolution has an opinion. Directors/Producers: Gail Dolgin, Vicente Franco. USA (the filmmakers consulted with many Cubans, and filming is entirely in Cuba, but production was done in San Francisco).
Cuba, Latin America, Social Life and Customs, USACuba: Island Of Dreams
Experience a tour through mountains, beaches, and the colorful panorama Cuba has to offer. This video provides pieces of folklore, music, architecture, history, as it shows the major cities of the island. Video Visits.
Cuba, Social Life and Customs, TravelCuba: The Broken Image
This program gathers together the most representative of exiled Cuban filmmakers, who recount their personal experiences of having to abandon their work and start a new life away from their country, culture and natural environment. The program features clips of their film and photographs as it takes viewers on a journey from Cuba in the late 1950s to the lives of the filmmakers today. Although Castro encouraged the development of a state sponsored cinema in Cuba, opening doors for many talented filmmakers, his policies towards intellectuals led many of these same filmmakers to abandon the island, leaving behind a broken image, an interrupted flow of creativity which some were able to find again abroad but others were not.
Cinema/Theater, Cuba, Latinos/Chicanos, USACuba: The Forty Years War
This documentary follows two Cuban exiles, Bay of Pigs invasion veterans, upon their return to their native island. As attendees of a conference discussing the invasion, they interact and attempt to reconcile the past with former battlefield adversaries, including Fidel Castro. Narrated by Martin Sheen.
Cuba, History, USACuban Americans, The
An exploration of the experience of Cubans living in the United States, focusing especially on the nature of the community since 1959. The film avoids explicit discussions of politics and instead focuses on the maintenance of community, culture and identity among Cubans now living in the United Staes. Through interviews with numerous celebrities, the film explores the experience of leaving Cuba and subsequent exile in the United States, that challenges of building lives as newly arrived immigrants in the United States, and the cultural forms that served as vehicles for the preservation of Cuban identity.
Cuba, Culture/Festivals/Food, History, Latinos/Chicanos, Migration/Immigration, USACuban Art: Archipelago Of Dreams
This short film explores the work of several Cuban artists who collaborate with Vígia Press, a unique publishing house in Matanzas which makes beautifully crafted books by hand. The interviewed artists discuss their imaginative modes of contemplating what constitutes a book or text, and the ways in which they blur the boundaries between artistic and literary expression. This film was produced in conjunction with the exhibit Cuban Artists' Books and Prints, an exhibit organized at Wake Forest University that featured 120 pieces of Cuban art, including several of the handmade books mentioned in the film.
Art, CubaCuban Experimental Short Films
This is a collection of five short experimental videos made by Cuban directors. Here is a brief description of each film: DeMoler (12 min) is a short documentary directed by Angel González about a small sugar mill and its meaning to its workers; Horizontes (3 min) is a silent animated film directed by Yemelí Cruz Revero and Adanoe Lima Cruz; 25 KM (19 min) is a film directed by Jeffery Puento that follows the journey of two Cuban women on their way to church; Freddy o el Sueño de Noel (7 min) is an experimental film directed by Waldo Ramirez that shows short clips of men fishing; Todo Por Ella (20 min), directed by Pavel Giroud, tells the story of a 19 year old male who is caught up in the world of sex, drugs, and debts.
Cuba, Social Life and CustomsCuban Roots / Bronx Stories
This documentary traces the tangled paths and multifaceted identity of a black Cuban family in the Bronx. Both working-class and professional, black and Latino, foreign and native, Spanish-speaking and English-speaking, the family is shown in the constant process of negotiating its identity. On their arrival in Miami, the family immediately encountered racial segregation, and they were forced to choose their identity: Are you black or Spanish? The film explores the various experiences that each family member had in dealing with the realities of life as black Cuban-Americans in the Bronx.
Latinos/Chicanos, Migration/Immigration, USACubanos, Los: Bretón Es Un Bebé
This documentary combines social commentary with surrealism to explore the Cuban soul. The filmmakers take the viewer on a trip through the heart of twenty-first-century Cuba, making stops in Pinar del Río, los Acuáticos, Matanzas, Cienfuegos, and Guaraabuya. In each stopping place, local lore and characters help present an overall portrait of Cuban history, society, and culture.
Art, Cuba, Culture/Festivals/Food, Social Life and CustomsCucaracha, La
This very first three-color, live action film production is a comic short about a volatile tempered cantina girl trying to regain the love of a fellow dancer. The piece has lots of dancing and music, marking the debut of Technicolor.
History, Mexico, Music/DanceCuestion De Fe, Una
In this lively road picture, three friends are contracted by a notorious gangster to create a carved statue depicting the Virgin Mary for a religious celebration in Bolivia. Domingo is the one commissioned to carve the life-size figure. After carving it, Joaquin, a gambler manages to procure a truck to transport it. They are also joined by Domingo's only friend Pepelucho. Loading the statue upright in the truck they set off on an incredible adventure.
Bolivia, Drama, ReligionDance of Hope
To call attention to the absence of their loved ones, "disappeared" during the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet, Chilean women perform the cueca, Chile's national dance of passion and courtship, poignantly and without partners.
Chile, History, Music/Dance, Politics/Human Rights, Women's StudiesDanza Del Espejo, La (Mirror Dance)
Identical Twins, Margarita and Ramona de Saá, grew up to become acclaimed ballerinas with the National Ballet of Cuba. Once inseparable, their relationship deteriorated as one sister left for America and the other embraced the Cuban Revolution. Mirror Dance is the story of two women forever linked by birth and dance but struggling to overcome a deep rift between sisters and nations alike.
Cuba, Latinos/Chicanos, USADanzon
Julia, played by María Rojo, works by day as a telephone operator in Mexico City and at night turns to her real passion, which is dancing. Once a week she goes to a ballroom to dance with Carmelo, a fifty-year-old, well-groomed man and excellent dancer of danzón. One day Carmelo disappears and Julia's search for him is transformed into a search for her own self-identity.
Drama, Mexico, Music/Dance, Women's StudiesDay Of The Dead In Janitzio, The
Experience the ancestral rituals of the Day of the Dead as it takes place in the mystic atmosphere of Jantzio. Watch as the people prepare themselves to receive their dead relatives as they clean and decorate graves and they set beautiful tables or altars in which they place offerings of food, liquor, cigarettes and flowers for the enjoyment of the visiting dead. In the evening the people go to the cemetery to bid farewell to the dead using thousands of candles to guide them on their long journey back.
Culture/Festivals/Food, Mexico, Social Life and CustomsDay Of The Dead: San Francisco / Dia De Los Muertos
This film captures the beauty and richness of San Franciscos annual Day of the Dead celebration. Enjoy scenes from this cross-cultural Mexican tradition that honors ancestors and families. People of all ages celebrate with a festival of marvelous costumes, reflective altars, live music and a neighborhood procession, all while exploring the relationship between the living and the dead. View all these aspects of the Dia de los Muertos holiday along with interviews with artists and participants.
Culture/Festivals/Food, Latinos/Chicanos, USADay Without A Mexican, A (1997)
"A Day Without a Mexican" is a "mocumentary" - a real documentary about a false event! California is shocked. One third of its population has disappeared and they are all Hispanics. Reporters take to the streets to capture the immediate effects of the crisis: "The Mexicans disappeared? That's great!" Have you been to the store...$6 for a head of lettuce, $8 for a pound of tomatoes." The film mixes facts and fiction with a touch of humor. Fact and fiction quickly begin to look alike, calling into question the idea of "objectivity" and "documentary as the truth."
MexicoDay Without A Mexican, A / Un Dia Sin Mexicanos (2004)
The California Dream suddenly becomes a hilarious nightmare when the entire Latin American population of the Golden State vanishes. For most "the disappearance" forces the cracks in their private lives wide open, including news reporter Lila Rodriguez, the state's last remaining Hispanic, and senator Steven Abercrombie III, who becomes governor pro tem despite his anti-immigrant stance. Confusion, misunderstandings and humorous situations abound, making this film a comedic satire and a modern fable with a very current message. This is the full-length feature film based on the 1997 short film of the same name.
Latinos/Chicanos, USADe Cierta Manera
A fascinating cinematic mix of documentary and fiction, Gómez (who died just before completing work on the film) looks at the marginal neighborhoods of Havana shortly after the triumph of the 1959 Revolution. With Mario Balmaseda and Yolanda Cuellar.
Cuba, DramaDe Eso No Se Habla
Marcello Mastroianni stars in this film by the late Maria Luisa Bemberg, one of Latin America's greatest directors. Mastroianni plays Ludovico, a sophisticated world traveler who retires to a small town and is drawn to the most intelligent woman in the village, a dwarf who has been sheltered by her overprotective mother. A charming fable about love and the intrusion of society.
Argentina, Drama, UruguayDe Florida A Coahuila / From Florida To Coahuila
This documentary tells the remarkable story of a rebel people – the Mascogos, known in the United States as the Black Seminoles. This exceptional community is descended from escaped slaves who made common cause with the Seminole Indians of Florida. The exceptional Mascogo/Black Seminole culture combines African-American spirituals, Indian fry-bread, and Tex-Mex cowboy culture. Filmed on both sides of the border, this video documents the complex history of people of African descent caught between national boundaries, and the efforts of their descendants to maintain their culture.
Latinos/Chicanos, MexicoDe Nadie
Individuals who leave their countries in hopes of a better life in the United States have a rough road ahead of them. Mexican filmmaker Tin Dirdamal follows a number of refugees in a refugee center in southern Mexico, from whence they hitch illegal rides on freight trains to the northern border.
Border, Mexico, Migration/Immigration, Social IssuesDeath And The Maiden
A powerful psychological thriller about one woman's struggle to heal from the effects of torture. Fifteen years after being tortured and imprisoned by a sadistic doctor, Paulina Escobar, played by Sigourney Weaver, faces a man who may have been her torturer. This film reflects the realities of political repression that occurred in Chile during the Pinochet regime. A Roman Polanski film, based on the play by Ariel Dorfman.
Chile, Latin America, USADedos De Luna
Through a poetic combination of words and paintings, Dedos De Luna tells the story of Toño and his grandfather, Don Gregorio. They enjoy making masks together, until Don Gregorio dies after making his last mask. Toño must come to terms with the death and decide whether to carry on the tradition of mask making. This is an instructional video that is intended to be paired with the rest of the Dedos De Luna unit.
Chile, Latin America, USADenying Brazil
A documentary film about the taboos, stereotypes, and struggles of Black actors in Brazilian television "soaps." Based on his own memories and on a sturdy body of research evidence, the director analyzes race relations in Brazilian soap operas, calling attention to their likely influence on Black people's identity-forming processes.
Brazil, Cinema/Theater, Country/Region, Drama, History, Politics/Human Rights, SubjectDesazón Suprema, La: Retrato Incesante De Fernando Vallejo /The Supreme Uneasiness: Incessant Portrait Of Fernando Vallejo
This riveting documentary about the controversial and very important Colombian author and sometime filmmaker, Fernando Vallejo, begins with a powerful talk he gave to a crowd of youth in which he realistically told them that they were born into the most dangerous place on Earth. His points are illustrated with spliced footage of a country in disarray, full of poverty and assassinations. His speech and writings are laden with strong social and political commentary about his country. Included are home movies, interviews with his siblings, and the interspersing of poetry, politics, and discussion of Vallejo's homosexuality.
Biography, ColombiaDesigualdades Raciales E Politicas Publicas
A recorded lecture giving historic overview of the black rights movement in Brazil. It explores the institutionalized racism inherent in universalistic public policies and signals the possibilities of implementing other types of public policy.
Brazil, Politics/Human Rights, Social IssuesDestination Brazil
This documentary follows world traveler Ian Wright through his journeys in Brazil, venturing alongside the Amazon and coast until he reaches Rio. There, Wright provides an informational outlook on both Brazilian culture and the city itself. Viewers will be able to learn more about the place Portuguese, Catholicism and post-colonial history in everyday Brazilian life, as well as witness how unique ceremonies, vibrant landscapes and versatile traditions all weave a rich national heritage.
Brazil, Culture/Festivals/Food, Social Life and Customs, TravelDEUS E O DIABO NA TERRA DO SOL
Brazil, Cinema/Theater, ClassicDevil’s Miner, The
This film is a portrait of two brothers who work deep in the silver mines of Cerro Rico, Bolivia. Raised without a father and living on the slopes of the mine, 14-year-old Basilio and his 12-year-old brother must work to support their family and afford supplies vital to their education
Bolivia, Social IssuesDevoradora, La
Diana is a 'Devoradora,' a man-eater. Men who fall in love with her get chewed up and spit out without any regard for their feelings. Diana an ambitious and frivolous woman, committed a crime and tried to blame some one else for the murder, and succeeds in some way, but she never thought her punishment would be just as big.
MexicoDia Que Me Quieras, El / The Day You’ll Love Me
El Día que Me Quieras is a meditation on the last picture taken of Che Guevara, as he lay dead on a table surrounded by his captors. Freddy Alborta, the photographer of the famous image, gives an interview as part of this documentary investigation of the power of photography. The film provokes a sense of loss and mourning, grounded, however, in Che's placement in the context of Latin American intellectual life.
ArgentinaDiablo Nunca Duerme, El
When Lourdes Portillo receives a phone call informing her that her uncle was found dead she returns to Mexico. Her investigation of the circumstances of her uncle's death takes us deep into the land of Northern Mexico, inside the life of her family and her community, to a place between reality and fiction.
Mexico, Migration/Immigration, Social IssuesDiarios De Motocicleta / Motorcycle Diaries
The Motorcycle Diaries is an adaptation of a journal written by Ernesto Che Guevara when he was 23 years old. He and his friend, Alberto Granado are typical college students who, seeking fun and adventure before graduation, decide to travel across Argentina, Chile, Brazil and Peru in order to do their medical residency at a leper colony. The two best friends start off with the same goals and aspirations, but by the time the film is over, it's clear what each man's destiny has become.
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Drama, Literature, PeruDías del Agua, Los
A provocative artistic film about a Cuban woman, Antoñica, possessed by a deity, or orisha. Set in Pinar del Río in 1936, first the local clergy and doctors conspire to remove her and her followers. A politician comes to their defense to project himself into power, only to call in the army later. Please note that this film is not subtitled.
CubaDiastole Y Sistole: Los Movimientos Del Corazon
Includes thirty-five interesting scenes and situations from a love story where the heartbeat ups and downs of a couple; Diastole and Cistole is a creative sample of couples relations; their happy moments, misfortunes and the games we play. Humor, jealousies and crazy ideas are the main ingredients of this funny and awarded comedy.
ColombiaDios Los Cria
Five stories about the contradictions and ironies of human conduct, combining satire, tragi-comedy and unexpected conclusions.
Puerto RicoDioses Rotos, Los / Broken Gods
Laura, a professor, conducts research for a PhD dissertation that delves into the Havana underworld in search of Albert Yanini, the most famous Cuban pimp from the turn of the twentieth century. Shot to death by his French rivals for control over the Havana prostitution business, Yarini's power of seduction captivate the soul of a culture that both criticizes and reveres him. Recently submitted by Cuba for the Best Foreign Film Oscar, the film is an exploration of Cuban sexuality and masculinity.
Cuba, Drama, Gender/Sexuality, Social Life and CustomsDireito à educação e ações afirmativas
A video presentation about the history of the Black Movement in Brazil. This film includes critical analysis of the themes of institutional racism as well as the public policies of Carater Universalista among other types of policies.
Brazil, Politics/Human Rights, Social Movements/ResistanceDona Flor E Seus Dois Maridos
Funny, sexy, and intoxicating. A ribald folktale about a young widow, her respectable new husband, and her dynamic but dead first husband who refuses to stay buried, featuring the sensual Sonia Braga as Dona Flor.
BrazilDrug Wars: Frontline Documentary Part I
Despite America's 30-year war on drugs, the use of heroin, cocaine, and marijuana remains essentially unchanged. This two-part documentary presents a television history of America's war on drugs from both sides of the battlefield. The first episode examines the impact of crack cocaine on our city streets and our criminal justice system. The report also investigates Mexico's role in supplying drugs for American demand. The second episode recounts the origins of the drug campaign, from the Nixon administration's drug control efforts to the rapid rise and fall of the Colombian drug cartels. PBS documentary from Frontline.
Social Issues, USADrug Wars: Frontline Documentary Part II
Despite America’s 30-year war on drugs, the use of heroin, cocaine, and marijuana remains essentially unchanged. This two-part documentary presents a television history of America’s war on drugs from both sides of the battlefield. The first episode examines the impact of crack cocaine on our city streets and our criminal justice system. The report also investigates Mexico’s role in supplying drugs for American demand. The second episode recounts the origins of the drug campaign, from the Nixon administration’s drug control efforts to the rapid rise and fall of the Colombian drug cartels. PBS documentary from Frontline.
Social Issues, USADrug Wars: The Camarena Story
An undercover DEA stationed in Mexico exposed large-scale marijuana trafficking, which led to his own murder and a high-profile investigation into government corruption.
Parts 1-3 of the made-for-television Tom Brokaw report.
Dust And Lipstick In The Central Plateau / Poeira & batom no Planalto Central
This documentary interviews 50 Brazilian women from varying socio-economic statuses and professions who moved to the area between 1956 and 1960 – a transformative time in the region where most structures and life was in the process of being built. This is a good film for those interested in women studies and the role women played in building Brasilia.
Anthropology/Archaeology, Biography, Brazil, Social Issues, Women's StudiesEdge Walker: A Conversation With Linda Schele
Documentary tribute to the late Linda Schele, among the leading scholars of Maya civilization, who in January 1998 gave a long, filmed interview in which she talks freely and frankly in her own inimitable style about her life, work, and philosophy.
Anthropology/Archaeology, Indigenous Peoples, Latinos/Chicanos, USAEisenstein En México: El Círculo Eterno / Eisenstein In Mexico: The Eternal Circle
The great Soviet filmmaker, Sergei Eisenstein went to Mexico in 1929 to shoot the film Qué vive México using surrealist and muralist influence. The project was never finished. However this documentary film follows the work of Eisenstein including stills of footage, interviews with collaborators, and photographs and studies of the project.
Art, Cinema/Theater, MexicoEl
The psychological study of a man who pursues and marries a young woman only to become obsessed with insane jealously over her supposed infidelity. As in other Buñuel films, beneath the calm and predictable world presented is the surreal logic of a dream which becomes a nightmare.
SpainEl Compadre Mendoza
This rare example of classic Mexican cinema examines the corrupted ideals of the Revolution in the story of an opportunistic landowner who faces the choice of remaining loyal to a general in Zapata's army and being financially ruined or saving his own skin. The character of the general is clearly modeled on Zapata himself.
Classic, Drama, History, Mexico, Social Movements/ResistanceEl Hombre Ilustrado
Manuel Mendive is known as one of the most important contemporary Cuban painters. Medive was born in 1944 in Havana, Cuba. Mendive integrates materials such as paint, fabric, and shells to create costumes, and decorate the forest. This VHS contains two short films. The first short film shows the dance performance piece, while the second film shows Mendive painting and illustrates his artistic process.
Art, Biography, Country/Region, Cuba, SubjectEl pais de los pueblos
Brazil, Politics/Human Rights, Social Issues, UncategorizedEl Prisionero Trece
El Prisionero 13 (Prisoner 13) is part of the trilogy of films made by Fernando Fuentes concerning the Mexican Revolution. The film centers on the drunkard Colonel Carrasco, whose wife Marta leaves him taking his young son.
MexicoEL PRISONERO TRECE
MexicoEl Salvador No Se Vende / El Salvador: Not For Sale
A portrait of a country under assault from Washington and the World Bank. This documentary shows the impact of structural adjustment, privatization and the global sweatshop economy on the people of El Salvador. It also explores the posible alternatives through interviews with activists in the women's movement, labor leaders and the FMLN. Historical footage takes you from the start of the civil war in 1980 to the economic war of the '90s, including new and inspiring images of strikers inside a Free Trade Zone.
El Salvador, HistoryEles Não Usam Black-Tie
Union leader's son doesn't want to engage in a strike, because his wife is pregnant, thus disregarding his father's tradition of political activism.
Brazil, Drama, Economics/Development, Politics/Human Rights, Social Issues, Social Movements/ResistanceElite Squad
Thunderous gun battels and powerhouse performances anchor the groundbreaking story of BOPE, a SWAT-like team at was with the drug lords of Rio de Janeiro. Racing against time, its hard-driving captain puts a pair of rookies through hell in an effort to shape a worthy successor and clear out a drug-infested slum before his imminent retirement. Based on a book by two former real-life BOPE captains, Elite Squad's brutal honesty and raw action focked Brazil to its foundations and gripped viewers worldwide.
Brazil, Social IssuesEllas Hacen Historia
This film documents the women’s movement in Ecuador and women’s increased importance in the community and the economy in which they live. This film explores how women’s roles have increased by forming organizations and by obtaining jobs previously only open to men such as teaching and medicine.
EcuadorElpidio Valdes Contra Dolar Y Cañon
Elpidio Valdés is an animated film which deals with the risky mission of bringing from Tampa, Florida, a shipment of arms for the freedom fighters of the Ejército Libertador. With Captain María Silva, his horse Palmiche, and his compatriots of the Partido Revolucionario Cubano, they confront their enemies, the Spanish colonialists and the Yankees.
Cuba, Politics/Human Rights, Social Movements/ResistanceElvia: The Fight For Land And Liberty
This powerful and personal documentary tells the story of Elvia Alvarado, a peasant woman who has been struggling for years to enforce an agrarian reform law that has been in the books since 1972. The video provides historical background about the need for agrarian reform in Honduras, explaining the dependence on export crops, the powerful military, and control by U. S. aid. It also gives a perspective on other social issues in the country.
HondurasEn El Camino De Nuestros Antepasados
This film uses puppets to deliver lessons about Yucatec Maya language, culture, and history. It deals with issues of contemporary and ancient Maya heritage. The main characters travel to different sites including Chichen Itza, and learn about things such as traditional Maya farming practices, ancient Maya religion, and heritage site looting and preservation.
Animated, Anthropology/Archaeology, Country/Region, Environment/Geography, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico, Social Issues, SubjectEn El Hoyo / In The Pit
In Mexico City, a second layer is being built atop the Periférico freeway, which inscribes a massive circle on the metropolis. Despite the project's enormity, the workers who are building the freeway are barely noticed by drivers who roll by endlessly. Rulfo's film places us among these workers. The film chronicles long days of arduous work, risk taking, joking, swearing, and philosophizing.
Economics/Development, Mexico, Social IssuesEntre Los Muertos
Entre Los Muertos is a documentary by Jorge Dalton which examines the way San Salvador’s citizens cope with the violence of devastating street crime, constant earthquakes and the ripple effects of decades long war. The film yields strong emotions as it explores the ways in which people perceive and deal with death. The film displays communities who live in cemeteries where tombstones are playgrounds, ‘funerary brokers’ who scout dead bodies for commission, families who bury kin in their backyard, and funerals and festivities on the Day of the Dead. It is an investigation of the economy of death, the value of life and how San Salvadorians walk a fine line between normalizing and desensitizing death, due to their historical roots in violence.
Country/Region, El Salvador, History, Latinos/Chicanos, Politics/Human Rights, SubjectEntreatos
This film documents the 2002 presidential campaign of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silvia for thirty days. The film is less focused on the public appearances of Lula and more on the behind the scenes action of the campaign team, including strategy meetings, private conversations, and family interactions. (2 disc set)
BrazilErendira
Based on a short story by Gabriel García Márquez. A teenage girl is exploited as a sexual slave by her greedy grandmother. An erotic black comedy laden with sexual fantasy, bawdy humor and sly political allegory.
MexicoEscuela, La
There are over 800,000 students enrolled in migrant education programs in the United States and, of those, only 45-50% ever finish high school. "Escuela", the sequel to Hannah Weyer's critically acclaimed documentary "La Boda", personalizes these glaring statistics through the honest portrait of a teenage Mexican-American farm worker, Liliana Luis.
Latinos/Chicanos, Migration/Immigration, USAEstadio Nacional
After the coup d’etat that occurred on September 11, 1973, the Chilean government initiated an atrocious pursuit against former allies of the overthrown Socialist President, Salvador Allende. A series of house raids were conducted and thousands of people were arrested. This documentary tells how more than 12,000 prisoners were confined, tortured and some were killed at the National Stadium—making it the largest concentration camp in Chile.
Biography, Chile, HistoryEstudios De Animacion Icaic
Compilation of short animated films not meant for younger audience because of their political propaganda upholding socialist ideals. These films were produced for the Cuban government to educate people on the values of the Revolution and/or to educate on certain governmental programs such as agricultural reform. Directors include Jesus de Armas, Harry Reade, Luis Rogelio Rodriguez, Hernan Henriquez, Juan Padrón, Mario Rivas, Tulio Raggi, Rayner Valdés Padrón, Tony Nodarse, Nelson Serrano, Jose E. Garcia, Isis Chaviano, and Johanhn Ramírez.
CubaEu, Tu, Eles
Based on a true story, this film is set in the beautifully majestic landscape of rural Brazil. Darlene, a determined woman, abruptly uproots herself from her small town to find a man who can fulfill her desires. Three years later and still single, Darlene returns to her hometown and accepts a modest marriage proposal from her humble neighbor Osias. Before long, Darlene finds herself in a grueling work routine while Osias oversees from the comfort of a hammock. The film portrays Darlene's struggle to find happiness and love in this isolated town in Brazil. Best Pictures and Best Actress at Cinema Brazil Festival. Official Selection 2001 Sundance Film Festival.
BrazilEva Peron: The True Story
A film biography about Evita Perón, the work seeks to portray the political acumen and skill of a consummate politician--"the power behind the throne"--of the populist Argentine, Juan Perón. The film represents an Argentine perspective grounded in history rather than treatments of Evita such as Andrew Lloyd Weber musical and Madonna versions.
Argentina, Biography, HistoryEvita: The Woman Behind The Myth
In this remarkable program, rare photographs and films tell Eva Duarte de Peron's (Evita) real story, from her humble birth to her tragic death from cancer at 33. Close aides and bitter enemies offer firsthand accounts, and popular artists--including playwright Rim Rice--consider why she continues to fascinate us today.
Argentina, Biography, Politics/Human RightsFabri-K, La
Two of Cuba's leading hip-hop groups, Obsesion and Doble Filo, have formed the collective La Fabri-K to showcase their art. This film follows the artists from their homes in Havana through their eye-opening concert tour in the United States, exploring the conflicts they confront along the way.
Cuba, Music/DanceFabula De La Bella Palomera
Based on a fragment from his novel Love in the Time of Cholera, this film was conceived and co-written by Nobel Prize winner Gabriel García Márquez. It tells the story of Orestes, a wealthy factory owner who falls madly in love with a married pigeon breeder. Part of the film series Amores Difíciles.
Drama, Literature, MexicoFace De L’ombre, La (The Face Of The Shadow)
Milka has known Alexis since they were children, and loved him for as long as she can remember. When Alexis falls in love with and decides to marry another woman, Milka makes a deal with a mysterious stranger with unusual power in an attempt to win him back.
Cinema/Theater, HaitiFaces Of War
Produced by Neighbor to Neighbor. Host Mike Farrell-Organizing Version.
El Salvador, Nicaragua, USAFavela Rising
Favela Rising documents a man and a movement, a city divided and a favela (Brazilian squatter settlement) united. Haunted by the murders of his family and many friends, Anderson Sá is a former drug-trafficker who turns social revolutionary in Rio de Janeiro’s most feared slum. Through hip-hop music, the rhythms of the street, and Afro-Brazilian dance, he rallies his community to counteract the violence and oppression.
Brazil, Music/Dance, Social Movements/ResistanceFestival Of Mamacha Grande, The
Every year on July 16th the town of Paucartambo celebrates the festival of the Virgen del Carmen, Mamacha Carmen. According to tradition, the beauty of this festival arise from the competition between it and the Virgen del Rosario, the former celebrated by mestizos and the latter by Indians. Dance groups provide ways for the inhabitants of the town to identify themselves as individuals, as well as relate with one another as a single mestizo identity.
Anthropology/Archaeology, Indigenous Peoples, PeruFidel (1968)
This documentary is a personal profile of Fidel Castro and a view of the developments since the revolution 10 years before. There are a lot of images of Fidel: listening to complaints, arguing, laughing, and philosophizing. There is beautiful footage of the Bay of Pigs invasion, and of Fidel and Che Guevara in the mountains. Also there are interviews with political prisoners.
Cuba, HistoryFidel: The Untold Story (2001)
This film is an intimate portrait of the Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro. Filmmaker Estela Bravo presents rare interviews with Castro and footage of him swimming with bodyguards, visiting his childhood home and school, and trading jokes with his friend Nelson Mandela. It introduces a positive portrayal of Castro rarely shown in the US media.
Biography, Cuba, HistoryFiesta Quinceañera, La
This two-part video depicts a young Mexican-American woman's fifteenth birthday celebration. Set in Dallas, Texas and Reynosa, Mexico, the first part consists of a discussion of the preparations, planning, and logistics that have to be considered in planning this important social event. The second part observes the actual ceremony through various stages after the preparations are completed for the mass, the party, and the dance that traditionally follow.
Border, Gender/Sexuality, Latinos/Chicanos, Mexico, USAFilhas Do Vento
Two sisters from the state of Minas Gerais are reunited after several years apart when their father dies and are forced to confront each other about the ill feelings generated by the hurts of the distant past.
Brazil, Cinema/Theater, Social Life and CustomsFive Suns, The: A Sacred History Of Mexico
Patricia Amlin, the extraordinary animator who created Popol Vuh has taken authentic images from ancient Maya ceramics and turned them into a riveting retelling of the Maya creation myth. The story tells how Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca create heaven and earth, journey to the underworld to create humans and find sustenance for them, and finally create the sun and the moon.
Art, Indigenous Peoples, MexicoFive T.V. Documentaries Of Environmental Issues
Made by Lia de Souza, Brazil. Portugese. 1.CUL GERAI-Historias da Pedra Furada 2.Especial Ianomami 3.Wareté 4.Antártida 5.Alcatrazes
BrazilFLIGHT OF PEDRO PAN, THE
Cuba, Latinos/Chicanos, Politics/Human Rights, Religion, USAFlores De Otro Mundo
The story of relationship struggles between men and women in the small town of Santa Eulalia, in Spain. Among them are Patrica, the Dominican woman, and Milady, the Cuban woman.
Cuba, Latinos/Chicanos, Politics/Human Rights, Religion, USAFood For The Ancestors: The Mexican Celebration Of The Days Of The Dead
This film documents the weeklong Mexican celebration known as Days of the Dead. This festival honors the memories of loved ones who have died. Food for the Ancestors explores this festival as it takes place in the culturally rich state of Puebla. The program is also very focused on the special food that is made for this celebration. The climatic portion of the film, and of the festival, occurs on November first when family members spend the entire night sitting at self decorated gravesites waiting for their ancestors to return.
Culture/Festivals/Food, Mexico, Social Life and CustomsFor Goodness Sake: Why America Needs Immigration Reform
In February 2011, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill hosted His Eminence Cardinal Roger Mahony. At that time, Cardinal Mahony was head of the nation's largest Roman Catholic archdiocese, the 5-million member Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, which is 70% Latino. In his presentation Mahony drew on scriptural and Catholic social justice doctrine in his call for immigration reform legislation. Also included with this film is selection of interviews with children of undocumented immigrants provided by Cardinal Mahony, as well as a public Q & A following the lecture.
Latinos/Chicanos, Migration/Immigration, Politics/Human Rights, Social Issues, USAFoto Que Recorre El Mundo, Una (The Photo That Went Around The World)
A single, iconic image of Ernesto “Che” Guevara has been remembered, revered and reproduced over the years. In this documentary, photographer Alberto Korda recounts his feelings at the moment he snapped the world famous photo. A fast-paced collage of images follows, showing how this photo was used internationally as a symbol of inspiration in liberation and human rights struggles.
Biography, Cuba, HistoryFour Days In September
This thriller is based on the true-life events. In 1969, the MR-8 urban guerrillas kidnap the US Ambassador to Brazil (Alan Arkin) to demand the release of prisoners held by the military junta. The dictatorship's secret police close in on the bungled operation while time runs out. Now, the diplomat’s life hangs in the balance, caught between a government unwilling to cooperate, and his fear for the captors themselves.
Biography, Brazil, Drama, HistoryFour Short Films By Joseph Fabry
A collection of four short films by Venezuelan filmmaker Joseph Fabry. The first, "Tres Encuentros del Arte Hispanoamericano" (30 min.), explores the broader contours of Latin American art by examining three specific forms: the spiritual architecture of Andean Peru, the murals of post-revolutionary Mexico, and contemporary sculpture in Venezuela. The second film, "Armando Reveron" (24 min.), profiles the life of a 20th century Venezuelan artist, while the third film, "Carmelo Fernandez" (17 min.) examines the life of 19th century artist and intellectual Carmelo Fernandez. The final film, "Toros, Caballos y Hombres de Valor" (15 min.) examines the Venezuelan sport of coleado, a rodeo-like event in which competitors grab the tail of a bull while riding on horseback.
Art, Social Life and Customs, VenezuelaFresa Y Chocolate
This award-winning film raises issues of tolerance and diversity by presenting sexual, artistic, and ultimately political struggles in Cuba through the story of several individuals. Through the touching relationship of a middle-aged gay artist and a young idealistic student, Alea portrays many of the current debates and ideologies impacting the lives of Cubans.
CubaFrescoes Of Diego Rivera, The
"An artist must be the conscience of his age." In this way Diego Rivera, a leader of the Mexican mural renaissance movement of the 1920's and 1930's expressed the philosophy behind his work; in particular the spectacular series of murals he created for public buildings in the US and Mexico. Vividly exploring Rivera's evolution as an artist, his use of the fresco technique, and his explosive political beliefs; this stunning documentary reveals one of the true geniuses of the twentieth century. Actor Michael Moriarty narrates. From the "Portrait of an Artist" series.
Art, Biography, Mexico, USAFrida
Taymor recreates the tactile passion and beauty of Frida Kahlo’s art as a backdrop for her life of romance and revolution. Frida chronicles the life of artist Frida Kahlo (Salma Hayek), from her upbringing to her worldwide fame. The film shows the turbulence and controversy that surrounded both Frida and her husband, Diego Rivera, throughout their lives as political activists, artists, and lovers. Frida received a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe and two Oscars.
Art, Biography, Drama, Mexico, USA, Women's StudiesFrida Kahlo
Visually depicts the life of Frida Kahlo through her own paintings and the surroundings of her home in Coyoacán, Mexico City.
Art, Biography, MexicoFrida Kahlo: Portrait Of An Artist
A documentary about Frida Kahlo's painful life and creative process. Part of the series "Portraits of an Artist."
Art, Biography, Mexico, USAFrida: Naturaleza Viva
On her deathbed artist Frida Kahlo (played by Ofelia Medina) conjures up images and memories of her life as a painter, revolutionary and woman of the world. Her stormy relationship with muralist Diego Rivera, her tender hospitality for exiled Leon Trotsky, her struggle for acceptance as an artist, and the travail of her illnesses and injuries are all recalled in a style reminiscent of her own work, simultaneously sophisticated and primitive, flamboyant and delicate.
Art, Biography, Drama, Mexico, Women's StudiesFronteira, A (The Border)
The story of two Brazilian families who put everything at risk to cross the border into the United States from Mexico, in search of a better life. Having gotten over the first leg of their journey, they all confront unexpected obstacles as they struggle to both reach their goals and adapt to their new reality. They fight for their dreams with the same courage and determination with which they cross new frontiers that appear on their way. Entirely based on true stories that were compiled to make up this beautiful and moving story.
Brazil, USAFrontera, La (The Exile)
During the Pinchet Regime, opposition politicians were often sent into internal exile to small rural towns. This film tells the story of such a relegado in a remote southern fishing village (Puerto Saavedra) where he finds mystery, love, and a new way to see the world. La Frontera is the most awarded Chilean film in history.
Chile, Drama, Politics/Human Rights, Social Issues, Social Movements/ResistanceFuera De Liga
“Fuera de Liga,” a documentary that has circulated the Havana streets, raises the problems that exist in Cuban baseball, those hidden behind the passions that are awoken by the stadiums of Cuba’s national sport. Directed by Ian Padrón and produced by ICAIC, this 68 minute film was never released into theaters. It is presented as a documentary about the baseball team the “Industriales,” an emblem of Cuban baseball, which has won a record 10 national series. The difficult conditions of life for the players as well as many other themes are approached in this film. It also talks about those athletes that left Cuba play professional baseball elsewhere.
Cuba, Social Life and CustomsGallo De Oro, El
Based on a story by Juan Rulfo. A poor man is given a near-dead fighting cock and he nurses him back to life. While this brings him life, he finds that when he forgets his roots and he soon runs out of luck.
Classic, Comedy, Drama, History, Mexico, Social Movements/ResistanceGay Cuba
The treatment of gays and lesbians in Cuba after the Revolution has been a topic of great controversy. This film depicts, through personal experiences, the conflicts arising in this marginalized sector of Cuban society.
CubaGeneral, El
In 1910 a revolution erupted in Mexico, among its rallying cries "the right to vote." Nearly a century later "Sufragio Efectivo" is heard again as thousands take to the streets. Through the legacy that filmmaker Natalia Almada inherited as the great-granddaughter of Mexican president Plutarco Elias Calles (1924-1928), one of Mexico's most controversial revolutionary figures accused of having been a "Dictator", "Iron Man" and "Nun-Burner", yet also acclaimed for having been the "father of modern Mexico," El General is a portrait of a family and a country under the shadow of the past. (synopsis by filmmaker)
History, MexicoGeografias Suaves 1
A series of shorts from the 2004 Geografias Suaves regional film festival which feature Maya speaking peoples from Yucatan and Chiapas. The shorts include a video postcard documenting the lives and everyday experiences of children and their communities as well as stories based on folklore and oral tradition from the region.
Culture/Festivals/Food, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico, Social Life and CustomsGeografias Suaves 2
Part 2 of a series of shorts from the 2004 Geografias Suaves regional film festival which feature Maya speaking peoples from Yucatan and Chiapas. The shorts include a video postcard documenting the lives and everyday experiences of children and their communities as well as stories based on folklore and oral tradition from the region.
Docudrama, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico, Social Issues, Social Life and CustomsGertrudis Bocanegra
Gertrudis Bocanegra Lazo de la Vega--played by award winning actress Ofelia Medina--a criollo woman who participated in the Mexican war of independence, is the central character of this film. Gertrudis becomes acutely aware of the social injustice prevalent in Mexico in the late Colonial period and gets involved in the Hidalgo's movement for independence. Using the technique of flashback, she tells her story from her prison cell in Pátzcuaro, Michoacán.
Colonial, Drama, History, MexicoGolpe De Estadio
The title of this film is a play on words. By adding an "i" to the expression for coup d'etat in Spanish, its meaning has now been changed to “stadium over throw.” The film is full of satire that is easy to understand, intelligent, and hilarious. Soccer, as the usual common denominator of people worldwide except in the US, serves as the pretense to dish out some of the most notorious social problems in the country. Exploitation by multi nationals, companies’ complicity with guerrillas and thus with the drug lords, the innocence of the common people, corruption, prostitution, poverty, are all actually made quite funny. Serving as comic relief, this movie is a scathing political and social satire of all the parties involved in the nation's problems. What brings the people "together" is their passion for soccer, and in this film, finding a way to watch the 1994 qualifying match between the Colombian national team and Argentina rises above all differences, to become top priority.
ColombiaGolpe De Suerte
A tragicomedy about the foibles of a petty Government official, who becomes a casualty of consolidation under the Salinas administration.
MexicoGreat Mojado Invasion, The
The director narrates this pseudo-documentary, fantasizing an invasion of mojados (wetbacks) who reconquer lost Mexican territory to create the “U.S. of Aztlán.” This new regime propagandizes by portraying Anglos with the same stereotypes employed against Latinos. Directed by Gustavo Vásquez and Guillermo Gómez-Peña.
Latinos/Chicanos, Mexico, USAGreener Grass: Cuba, Baseball, And The United States
While unfolding the story of the Cuba vs. the Baltimore Orioles games, this documentary develops a narrative of the history of baseball as an element of Cuban national identity, and the impact the sport has had on both the United States and Cuban relations. Especially interesting is the story of African Americans playing for Cuban teams, and both white and black Cubans playing in the early American Negro Leagues when baseball was segregated in the United States
Cuba, Latinos/Chicanos, USAGringo In Mañanaland
This film is a montage of scenes from travelogues, dramatic films, industrial films, newsreels, military footage, geography textbook illustrations and political cartoons. Together they explore the stereotyped image of Latin America in popular US media during the 20th century.
Biography, Cinema/Theater, Latin America, Latinos/Chicanos, USAGringo Next Door
When Jack sees that his chickens are missing, he turns on the only people he thinks to blame - his Hispanic neighbors. The solution? Hire immigrant labor to build a wall between the two homes. A hilarious web of miscommunication ensues in this humorous satire. This short film was shot by UNC-CH students in Pittsboro, NC.
Country/Region, Latinos/Chicanos, Migration/Immigration, Subject, USAGringoton (Gringo-Thon)
During the invasion of Iraq in 2003, a misplaced gringo in Mexico City helplessly watches the atrocities through Mexican television news. Taking a tip from his local neighbors, he begins to sell chewing gum and wash car windows in the streets...to raise money for a guerrilla army to take out Bush. "Gringo-thon" is a personal expression of protest of an expatriate living abroad and a meditation of the complexities of “gringo” identity.
Mexico, Politics/Human Rights, Social Movements/Resistance, USAGrito, El: Ojos De Perro
Coerced into rebellion against the tyrannical regime of a ruthless landowner, the laborers of a sugar plantation form the first union in the country. The whole town faces the brutal repression of the ruling power headed by a young lawyer, who sacrifices his lover, his life and that of those who surround and support him, in his struggle for justice.
MexicoGuantanamera
Tomás Gutiérrez Alea's last film before his death, Guantanamera is a romantic, fluid road-trip movie set in contemporary Cuba amid economic crisis and crumbling infrastructure. In a tribute to the resilient spirit of Cubans in trying circumstances, and a sly critique of the regime, Alea masterfully weaves in tributes to Death of a Bureaucrat and other works.
Comedy, Cuba, Drama, Social IssuesGuatemala Por Dentro
Part I-Documents religious paintings in the Merced Iglesia, a colonial church in Antigua. Part II-Documents retablos in the Merced Iglesia. Part III-Documents the rich history of the church of Santo Domingo and the feast of the patron in San Martín Obispo and San Martín Chile Verde.
Art, Guatemala, History, ReligionGuatemala: The Dream Of The Land
This television documentary provides a brief history of land distribution efforts in Guatemala and follows a threatened priest leading a landless campesino movement. The program shows the dream of some landless families come true, as they obtain land for the first time through three land distribution programs.
Guatemala, HistoryGuerra Del Cerdo
The generation gap is taken to the extreme by a group of young people. They have decided to exterminate all senior citizens. Isidro Vidal, the protagonist, is a middle-age man thrown in the midst of this absurd and merciless war. Ultimately, the love of a woman shows him that happiness is possible only for those who show the courage to live fully to the end of their days.
Argentina, Drama, Social IssuesGuerra Gaucha, La
After Argentina declared its independence from Spain in the mid-19th century, Spain fought back by sending its armada across the Atlantic to crush the revolution. To repulse the Spanish, a guerrilla movement sprang up among the gauchos, led by Martín Güemes. This legendary moment in Argentinian history was captured on an epic scale.
ArgentinaGuestworker, The
Since 1986, thousands of Mexican men have entered the United States to work under the auspices of the H-2A guestworker program. These men are given temporary visas to come to the United States for several months a year and provide labor in sectors such as agriculture in which American citizens are increasingly unwilling to work. The Guestworker centers on the experiences of Candelario Moreno, who works on the pepper, cucumber, and tobacco fields of Wester Farms in North Carolina. It explores the need for labor that drives the program and examines the conditions experienced by those Mexicans who make the choice to participate.
Economics/Development, Mexico, Migration/Immigration, USAGuevara: Anatomia De Un Mito
This film presents a revisionist view of the life Ernesto “Che” Guevara. Various interviews with former comrades of Guevara present a portrait of the man that is a stark contrast to the official mythology of Che’s historical role in the revolution. Their stories present a cruel, vindictive side of Che’s personality responsible for a number of botched revolutionary ventures, including the campaign in Bolivia that led to his death. Far from the selfless hero of official Cuban history, viewers are presented with a cowardly, incompetent ideologue whose disregard for the views of others led to his own downfall.
Biography, Cuba, HistoryGypsies Without Tents / Gitanos Sin Carpas
This documentary portrays the lives of Chile’s estimated 15 – 20,000 Romanies (Gypsies) by documenting the stories of three families and their everyday struggles to reconcile their traditional culture with the advantages offered by cultural assimilation. The film brings us into the families’ homes, their places of worship, the children’s schools, and the markets where the men trade, where the protagonists speak, in the Romani language as well as Spanish, about their lives and their concerns as Chileans and as Romanies.
Chile, Migration/Immigration, Social IssuesHabana Blues (Havana Blues)
Cuba is a land of music and consequently a land of musicians. Habana Blues is full of lots of extraordinary music, but what makes it so special is the way Zambrano details the lives of the protagonists and the choices they are forced to make regarding their music, their families and their country. Cannes Festival Official Selection, 2005.
Cuba, Drama, Music/Dance, Politics/Human RightsHabanastation
Habanastation is a 2011 Cuban drama film directed by Ian Padron. Filmed in a slum in western Havana, the film addresses inequalities in Cuba through the relationship between two children of different social strata. The film was selected as the Cuban entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 84th Academy Awards.
Country/Region, Cuba, Environment/Geography, Social Issues, Social Life and Customs, SubjectHail Umbanda
This view of Brazil’s fastest growing religion shows both the public and private sides of Umbanda, a mix of Catholicism with both Afro-Brazilian and indigenous spiritualism. The primary focus of the film is a renowned Umbanda priest, also known as the Pai de Santo (father of the gods), and his explanation of a variety of aspects of his religion.
Cuba, Drama, Music/Dance, Politics/Human RightsHarvest Of Loneliness
In today’s weak economy, current immigration laws in different states of the country show hostility towards undocumented immigrants. This was not the case during and after World War II where the United States was in need of laborers who would work the fields of California and other states. This documentary explores the Bracero Program, and immigration reform that sought Mexican workers for temporal guest workers. These workers could not join unions, strike, or seek redress of their grievances, making them vulnearable for exploitation. The program was supposed to boost the economies of both countries, but Mexican wives and children were left behind as husbands traveled north in search of the American Dream. The documentary shows how the main reason for the program was to provide cheap labor without regard for the Mexican families.
Country/Region, Latinos/Chicanos, Mexico, Migration/Immigration, Social Issues, Subject, USAHasta La Reina Isabel Baila El Danzon
A woman in Havana has had visions of Queen Isabel and considers herself to be a medium who has regular contact with the fifteenth-century monarch.
Cuba, Drama, Music/Dance, Politics/Human RightsHavana Nagila: The History Of The Jews In Cuba
This documentary traces the history and presence of the Jewish community in Cuba. It explores the impact of the 1959 Revolution on the five percent of the original community, the community's recent resurgence, and the international issues that affect its future. Rich in footage of Cuba, archival material and interviews, this film depicts an important history of Jewish immigration, with a focus on the particular experience of Cuban Jews. Edited by Vicente Franco and narrated by Isabel Alegría.
Cuba, History, Migration/ImmigrationHavana Today: Impressions Of A City
What is life in Havana for its residents? Daily life in this multifaceted city, crucible of history and living community, is impossible to describe in a single narrative. And so, Havana Today weaves together a love song to Havana from sixteen juxtaposed fragments that unite to make a whole. With a rippling soundtrack and scores of evocative images and testimonies, Havana Today is a sketch of the beauty, struggle, hope, and love of the remarkable people of Havana, Cuba.
Cuba, History, Migration/ImmigrationHeavier Than Air
This documentary challenges the popular understanding that the Wright brothers were the “first in flight.” It treats the life of Brazilian aviator Alberto Santos-Dumont and his mission to create “heavier than air” flying technology.
Brazil, USAHello Hemingway
Set in pre-revolutionary Cuba (late 1950s), this winner of the 1990 Grand Coral Prize in Havana deals with the inner conflicts of a young girl's coming of age, her identification with a Hemingway she never meets, and a society she finds confining.
Cuba, DramaHijo De La Novia
Rafael Belvedere makes his living running a restaurant and the combination of a stressful job and familial tensions are wearing him down to a frazzle. It's been almost a year since he last paid a visit to his mother, who is battling Alzheimer's in a retirement home. When his father decides that he wants to renew their wedding vows the affair turns out to be far more complicated than Rafael imagined.
Argentina, DramaHistoria Oficial, La (The Official Story)
Set in the 1980s, the film follows the sheltered wife of a wealthy businessman who finds herself face to face with a legacy of terror as she begins to discover that her adopted daughter may have been stolen from a family "disappeared" during the Argentine military dictatorship in the 1970s.
Argentina, Drama, History, Social Movements/ResistanceHistorias De Futbol (Soccer Stories)
This film includes three stories about football, one of the most important twentieth-century rituals. A third division player from Santiago de Chile is bribed, but does not realize that his behavior betrays more than the loyalty of his team-mates. A boy from Calama, Chile wins the local derby pichanga, a soccer match that can last all afternoon, but he loses the few pesos he acquired by pawning his mother's last possessions. Francisco, a boy from the city, is stuck in a remote corner of the southern island of Chiloé on the day that Chile has to play its qualifying match for the World Cup. The only TV is in the house of the Serón sisters. While the local male population gathers to watch the match, the sisters decide which of them will initiate the young Francisco into love.
Chile, Drama, Gender/Sexuality, Politics/Human Rights, Social Life and CustomsHistorias De Gente Grande
Based on the research of Felipe Vázquez Palacios and his team in the state of Veracruz. This documentary depicts the daily life of those whom society considers to be “old.” The testimonies of these men and women teach us that the process of growing old is a construction that combines biology with work, family and society. Due to their diminishing status and lack of social support, these older adults invent survival strategies while they wait for their death.
Art, Biography, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico, Social IssuesHistorias De La Revolucion
Documentary including three dramatic stories about the insurrection struggle in Cuba during the 50’s. The saga of young people, who lived, loved and fought with the hopes of a better future.
Cuba, History, Social Movements/ResistanceHistorias Minimas
Three people travel along the lonely roads of Patagonia. Don Justo (80), the retired owner of a warehouse, flees to look for his long-missing dog. Roberto (40), a traveling salesman, follows the same road with an awkward load: a birthday cake for the son of a young widow. Traveling with her young daughter, María Flores, is a poor woman who has won the lottery on a TV program. Through traveling on their own, their paths eventually cross one another.
ArgentinaHistory Of A Committed Cinema
This is a short fast-paced film displaying the work of the Nicaraguan Film Institute, INCINE, which is a part of the Sandinistan government in Nicaragua. It outlines the difficult technical, cinematic and political tasks confronting INCINE as it strives to build a native film industry.
Cinema/Theater, Comedy, Country/Region, Nicaragua, SubjectHombre De Exito, Un
With César Evora, Jorge Trinchet, and Daisy Granados. A young ambitious man begins climbing the social and political ladder in Cuba in the 1930s. After the fall of Machado in 1933, his political career takes off, his ethics and scruples continue to decline, and his connections to family and friends deteriorate.
Cuba, Drama, History, Social Movements/ResistanceHombre de Maisinicú
Over the course of the 1960s, the revolutionary government in Cuba confronted active and violent opposition from armed counter-revolutionary groups operating on the island. This film dramatizes this confrontation through the story of Alberto Delgado, a Cuban agent who infiltrated one counter-revolutionary group in the Escambray mountains.
Cuba, Drama, HistoryHOMBRE MIRANDO AL SURESTE (MAN FACING SOUTHEAST)
Argentina, Drama, Social IssuesHombre Muy Viejo Con Alas Enormas, Un (A Very Old Man With Enormous Wings)
Amid the debris of a Colombian cyclone lands an old man with enormous wings, whose seemingly miraculous anatomy attracts the curious and devout from around the world. Silent and disheveled, this fantastical "creature" is housed in a chicken coop as his host and the onlookers wait for his heavenly message, which turns out to be a mixed blessing. Original story by Gabriel García Márquez, who also co-wrote the screenplay. Part of the film series Amores Difíciles.
Drama, Literature, SpainHora Da Estrela, A
In this film based on the book by Clarice Lispector, Macabea is a young woman from the countryside of northeast Brazil who lives in the sprawling city of Sao Paulo. The mixture of bitter reality and gentle, humorous fantasy has been compared with the works of Fellini, Chaplin and DeSica, and earned Suzana Amaral's first feature status as an instant cinematic classic.
BrazilHotel Cuba
A documentary about the Cuban-Jewish community in South Florida, with interviews from both Cuban-Jewish and Non-Jewish members of the community. Robert Levine began the documentary after realizing the effects of the generation gap between Cuban-Jewish teenagers and their parents and grandparents, who were originally from Cuba. Robert Levine, joined with Mark D. Szuchman, a colleague at Florida International University, began to record their interviews with the community members to reflect the views of the community members.
Cuba, Latinos/Chicanos, USAHouse Of Sand, The
Filmed entirely on the magnificent, sandy coast of northern Brazil, Aurea's saga begins in 1910, in Maranhao, where her fanatical husband has relocated his family to start a farm. Desperate and pregnant, Aurea longs to return to the city, but cannot traverse the dunes with her aging mother, Maria in tow. When calamity strikes, the two women find themselves stranded. Eventually, they settle among the shifting sands and Aurea finds peace. But her passionate daughter, Maria, longs to explore the world beyond the dunes.
BrazilI Am Cuba: About Mikhail Kalatozov (Bonus Disc 3)
A documentary about Mikhail Kalatozov, with interviews and old footage.
CubaI Am Cuba: Bonus Disc 1
A visually stunning film that was made in Cuba between 1961 and 1964 by the acclaimed Soviet director Mikhail Kalatozov (The Cranes Are Flying). The camera work is amazing in this propaganda epic that portrays four vignettes of Cuba in the period immediately prior to the 1959 Revolution. The film is a rivetingly beautiful examination of the social and economic conditions in Cuba during the Batista era. Part 1 of 3 Other parts: -The Siberian Mammoth (Part 2) -A film about Mikhail Kalatozov (Part 3)
Brazil, CubaI Am Cuba: The Siberian Mammoth (Bonus Disc 2)
"The Siberian Mammoth" A documentary on the making of "Soy Cuba," with various interviews and old footage both from the film and from the early revolution. Other parts: -I Am Cuba(Part 1) -A film about Mikhail Kalatozov (Part 3)
Brazil, CubaI Am Joaquin
This work by Luis Valdez and El Teatro Campesino marked the emergence of film as a distinct cultural and aesthetic practice within the Chicano Movement. In the film, Luis Valdez gives a dramatic interpretation of Rudilfo "Corky" Gonzalez's epic poem: I Am Joaquin, which was often distributed through mimeographed booklets to be read at rallies. This powerful film delineates all the contradictions of the Chicano experience over a 500-year genealogy of mestizo resistance.
Indigenous Peoples, Latinos/Chicanos, USAI Love Pinochet
How can it be that after Pinochet's repressive regime the former general can still count on the uunconditional support of so many Chileans? Constructed from a series of portraits that reveal the breadth and complexity of Pinochetism in Chile, I LOVE PINOCHET offers a unique look at the social and political system left by Augusto Pinochet, as seen from his followers’ point of view.
Chile, History, Politics/Human Rights, Social Movements/ResistanceI Was Born A Black Woman (Nasci Mulher Negra)
This film recounts the remarkable life of Benedita da Silva, the first Afro-Brazilian woman to be elected to Brazil's senate. Her long history of struggle in the shantytowns, the women's movement and the black movement created the base for her enormous popularity as an organizer, a politician and an international role model.
BrazilIlha Das Flores
This is an hilarious but devastating film about values, the food chain, and the human condition. Ultimately, a Brazilian island where pigs eat first, and the people are fed what the pigs leave over provides an example of how arbitrarily we have arrived at the human food chain and system of exchange that we now know.
Brazil, Social Issues, Social Life and CustomsImages Of The Repression In Oaxaca (Imagenes De La Represion En Oaxaca)
Six short documentaries about the protests and populist movement taking place in Oaxaca. Interviews, photographs, and documentation of particular events, like the attempted takeover of Benito Juarez Autonomous University by the Federal Police on November 2nd 2006 are included. Various struggles and themes are analyzed in these short productions that document and present images of the current repression of Oaxacan citizens.
MexicoImperio De La Fortuna, El
Based on a short story El Gallo de Oro by Juan Rulfo, this film tells the story of Dionosio Pinzon, a Mexican peasant living with his mother. Born with a deformed hand, and living a very meager life, Dionosio's luck turns around when he is given a losing gamecock which he nurses back to health. He trains the bird for fighting, begins to make money, and begins a relationship with a gold-digging singer. As he makes money, though, he begins to become more and more corrupt--and it becomes apparent that his winning streak will not last. Remake of the 1964 film El Gallo de Oro.
Comedy, Drama, History, MexicoIn Search Of The Mayas
Deep in the rainforest of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula are the lost Mayan Cities of Chichen Itzá an Palenque. Discover their magic and learn about the Mayan culture while exploring some of the region’s most exquisite examples of pre-Hispanic American architecture.
Anthropology/Archaeology, Indigenous Peoples, MexicoIn The Time Of The Butterflies
Based on the novel by Julia Alvarez and inspired by the true story of the Mirabal sisters, who faced brutal repression at the hands of the regime of Rafael Trujillo as a result of their involvement in an underground plot to overthrow him. Salma Hayek stars as Minerva Mirabal, whose direct personal experience with Trujillo's abuse of power and suppression of his enemies pushes her into active participation in the opposition. She is joined by her two sisters, who become known as the butterflies and serve as an inspirational example of resistance to other Dominicans.
Dominican Republic, History, Politics/Human Rights, Social Movements/ResistanceIncas Remembered
Explores the mysteries of an advanced civilization's disappearance. The miracles of the Incas are presented in this engrossing special by award winning filmmaker Luch Jarvis. Suitable for all ages, but excellent for elementary-school students
Anthropology/Archaeology, Indigenous Peoples, PeruIncidents Of Travel In Chichén Itzá
This oringinal ethnographic video depicts how New Agers, the Mexican state, tourists, and 1920s archeologists all contend to “clear” the site of the antique Maya city of Chiché Itzá in order to produce their own idealized and unobstructed visions of “Maya” while the local Maya themselves struggle to occupy the site as vendors and artisans.
Anthropology/Archaeology, Indigenous Peoples, MexicoInheritors, The
The most highly praised and awarded Mexican documentary in many years, THE INHERITORS by Eugenio Polgovsky immerses us in the daily lives of children who, with their families, survive only by their unrelenting labor. The film takes us into the agricultural fields, where children barely bigger than the buckets they carry, work long hours, in often hazardous conditions, picking tomatoes, peppers, or beans, for which they are paid by weight. Infants in baskets are left alone in the hot sun, or are breast-fed by mothers while they pick crops. The indelible impression conveyed by THE INHERITORS, in which everyone-from the frailest elders to the smallest of toddlers-must work reveals how the cycle of poverty is passed on, from one generation to another.
MexicoInner Force
Inner Force visualizes the survival strategies that surge from the love and the talent of women. The 1980's was a decade of extreme poverty, violence, civil wars, state repression, invasions, political crises, and a loss of institutional credibility.
Gender/Sexuality, Latin AmericaIntermezzo
In a men’s bathroom a discussion takes place. One member of a committee votes against a presidential proposal, and suddenly becomes the hero of the democratic process. What seems to him to be a perfectly reasonable and ordinary act strikes others as a courageous and noteworthy gesture, raising questions about the true nature of popular political participation. He ultimately finds himself in an awkward position with respect to the reality he lives in.
Cuba, Politics/Human Rights, Social IssuesIt’s Raining On Santiago
A dramatic re-telling of the events surrounding the military takeover of the government of President Salvador Allende. The film depicts, in a gritty realistic style, Pinochet's fascist acts against followers of Allende's socialist Unidad Popular, and depicts the struggle against all odds, of Allende followers willing to sacrifice their lives for their cause. Soldiers disloyal to Pinochet were systematically executed along with university professors, artists, and journalists while the city leaders were bribed into shutting Santiago down.
Chile, Politics/Human RightsJesus
This feature film tells the story of the life of Jesus in Yucatec Maya language. It is a great resource for those who want to practice and master the language.
Drama, History, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico, ReligionJOGO DE CENA
Brazil, Country/Region, Gender/Sexuality, Social Issues, Social Life and Customs, Subject, Women's StudiesJogo De Cena
In this film, ordinary Brazilian women who have responded to a newspaper ad tell part of their life stories to director Eduardo Coutinho. In September of the same year, actresses interpret, in their own way, the stories told by those chosen. There are three levels of representation in the film. First, real people tell of their real lives. Second, these characters serve as a challenge to the actors. And third, some of these actors then act out or speak about their own real lives. This film was donated by Duke University Visiting Instructor Aaron Lorenz.
Brazil, Country/Region, Gender/Sexuality, Subject, Women's StudiesJovenes Rebeldes
This film examines the now vibrant hip-hop community that has emerged in Cuba since the onset of the special period, interviewing numerous artists and getting their perspectives on a number of issues, including racism, issues of censorship, economic conditions, gender and sexuality, and relations with the United States. In many ways the Cuban hip-hop scene evokes memories of the culture when it first emerged in the United States in terms of its grassroots character as a form of expression for marginalized youth. Rappers comment on the significance the genre has as a form of cultural expression and social commentary, as well as the danger of Cuban hip-hop progressing down the same path of commercialization that has become so prominent in the United States.
Cuba, Music/Dance, Social IssuesJulio Y Su Angel
An eight-year-old boy tired of living in an orphanage and working in a tortilla factory decides to search for the guardian angel his mother promised to send. The angel appears to him as a grumpy old Mexican man who teaches him the values of life, work, family, and friendship while they embark on an adventure through tropical paradises.
Drama, Mexico, Social IssuesJusticia Esta Con Ella, La
Laws against the violence towards women and their families. Prod: Dinamu-SNV.
Drama, Mexico, Social IssuesKeeper Of Promises (O Pagador De Promessas)
Zé is a very poor man from the Brazilian countryside. His most prized possession is his donkey. When his donkey falls terminally ill, Zé makes a promise to Saint Bárbara: If his donkey recovers, he will carry a cross - like Jesus - all the way from his city to Saint Bárbara's church in the state capital. Upon the recover of his donkey, Zé leaves on his journey. He makes it to the church, but the priest refuses to accept the cross once he came to know the context of Zé's promise. Please note: this film does not have subtitles. It is not rated and includes scenes of domestic violence and some sexual content.
Brazil, Culture/Festivals/Food, Drama, ReligionKid Chocolate
Cuban boxing legend Kid Chocolate was the first Cuban to win a world boxing title, and is still considered by many as the best Cuban boxer ever. In this documentary produced by the Cuban film institute ICAIC, Chocolate recounts tales of his boxing career and experiences as a celebrity in the 1920s and 1930s.
Cuba, HistoryKiss Of The Spider Woman (Beso De La Mujer Araña )
Political prisoner Valentín Arregui and homosexual pederast Luis Molina share a Brazilian prison cell in this fantastical drama from Manuel Puig’s book by the same title. Molina helps pass time by recounting memories from one of his favorite films, a wartime romantic thriller that just may also be a Nazi propaganda film, in order to spur Valentin’s imagination and distract him from the brutal realities of political imprisonment and separation from his love.
Brazil, Drama, Social IssuesKnorosov: The Decipherment Of The Mayan Script
This documentary retraces the decipherment of the ancient Mayan codices by an unknown Russian scholar, Yuri Valentinovich Knorosov. Due to the political tensions of the Cold War, Western scholars ignored his linguistic breakthrough. This film recounts the personal and intellectual journey that led to his discovery, and the subsequent struggle for recognition.
Anthropology/Archaeology, MexicoLA FACE DE L’OMBRE (THE FACE OF THE SHADOW)
Cinema/Theater, HaitiLa Generacion del Estanbai
The working class of Puerto Rico is shrinking, leaving millennials entering the work force with few options.This film follows the lives of several college graduates and their economic hardships.
Economics/Development, Latinos/Chicanos, Puerto Rico, Social IssuesLA PRISION INSOMNE
Art, Country/Region, Cuba, Culture/Festivals/Food, Docudrama, History, Literature, Politics/Human Rights, Social Life and Customs, SubjectLacandona : The Zapatistas And Rainforest Of Chiapas Mexico
This is a film that documents the struggle of the people of Chiapas to reclaim their land and rights that were promised to them by the Mexican Constitution. Their land is full of natural resources, such as oil and precious wood. Their belief that they have a right to their land initiated a revolution. This is a brief overview of their struggle and conflict in Chiapas Mexico. Produced by Native Forest Network, Eastern North American Resource Center.
Environment/Geography, Mexico, Social Movements/ResistanceLado Oscuro Del Corazon, El
A parable about a narcissistic young poet in search of the perfect woman. Claiming he will not “tolerate a woman who cannot fly,” Oliverio ejects non-flyers from his bed and spouts poetry to potential pick ups in bars. Expanding his quest from Buenos Aires to Montevideo, he meets a prostitute named Ana who can actually fly but prefers to keep their relationship a business arrangement. Tormented and lovelorn, Oliverio must face the consequences of pursuing his dream.
ArgentinaLagos, Ricardo (Visit To UNC)
Filmed on November 9, 2001, when Chilean President Ricardo Lagos Escobar received the Honorary Doctor of Laws from UNC-Chapel Hill. The film includes the introduction by deans and Lagos’ speech upon acceptance of the award.
Chile, USALand Belongs To Those Who Work It, The (La Tierra Le Pertenece A Quienes La Trabajen)
This documentary discusses the situation in the town of Bolon Aja’aw, located in the north of Chiapas near the famous Agua Azul river system. The federal government sold the land in Bolon Aja’aw to a private company to create an eco-tourism center without the permission of the community members. The video documents a meeting between Zapatista authorities and Mexican Government functionaries, and offers a critical look at the practical implication of so-called eco-tourism.
Mexico, Social IssuesLand Of Mennonites
The Mennonites who arrived in Mexico in 1922 after a lengthy stream of immigration, converted the desert into farmable land, and were rewarded with an economic boom. Today 30,000 Mennonites live in Northen Mexico, and are caught in a struggle between isolation and opening up to the world. Through the testimonies of various Mennonites, we are given an insight into a community that is full of contradictions and conflicts, and in which the importance of tradition is questioned by voices of change and dissidence.
MexicoLast Revolutionary, The
CBS Reports with Dan Rather presents a biography of Fidel Castro.
Cuba, Social Movements/ResistanceLegacy: Central America
A six part series produced by Maryland Public Television and the Central Independent Television of the United Kingdom explores the influence of ancient culture on our lives today. In this video -Program Five- host/writer Michael Wood visits the ancient cities of the Inca, Aztec and Mayan peoples. As the world looks toward the new millennium, the West should learn to recognize the value of all traditions and realize that older civilizations still have something to teach us about today.
Cuba, Social Movements/ResistanceLejania
A dramatic and sensitive analysis of the lejanía, the distance or separation among members of the same family, created by the Cuban revolution. A Cuban mother, now living in Miami, returns to visit her son whom she abandoned 10 years earlier.
Cuba, Drama, Social Issues, Social Movements/ResistanceLendo Voces
More than 150 million Brazilians have disabilitating visual impairment. This film talks about reading to the blind in Salvador, Brazil. It also talks about increasing visually impaired Brazilians' access to brazilian literature and how that is achieved.
BrazilLes Amours d’un Zombi
All the country is suddenly tuned into what seems to be a soap opera: a zombie who has just escaped tells the press about the love that he feels for a woman. A female reporter follows closely the story. We discover through her report how a group of politicians have decided to exploit the zombie's popularity. They propel him as a presidential candidate. But they do so without thinking about the ambitions of Baron Samedi, the lord of the cemeteries, with his weapons of mass seduction.
Haiti, UncategorizedLetters From the Other Side / Cartas del Otro Lado
This film interweaves video letters carried across the U.S./Mexico border by the film’s director with the personal stories of women left behind in post-NAFTA Mexico, giving voice to 4 amazing women who feel the effects of failed immigration and trade policies on a daily basis. Focusing on a side of the immigration story rarely told by the media or touched upon in our national debates, Letters from the Other Side offers a fresh perspective, painting a complex portrait of families torn apart by economics, communities dying at the hands of globalization, and governments incapable or unwilling to do anything about it.
Economics/Development, Mexico, USALey De Herodes, La (Herods Law)
La Ley de Herodes is a hilarious, outrageous satire set in a tiny Mexican town in 1949. Damián Alcázar stars as Juan Vargas, a junkyard operator is recruited as a temporary mayor following the demise of the latest corrupt town leader. At first, Vargas is the ideal politician: he’s honest, desperate and not terribly ambitious – or so it seems. But eventually, Vargas gives in to overwhelming temptation, bribery, and even violence in this brilliant, tongue-in-cheek story about government treachery.
Comedy, Drama, History, Mexico, Politics/Human Rights, Social IssuesLife And Debt
A real world look at how the policies of globalization and free trade devastate places. Director Stephanie Black focuses on Jamaica, which has been virtually destroyed from twenty-five years of ‘help’ from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. An important hit at the 2002 Human Rights Watch Film Festival, with a soundtrack by Ziggy Marley and a narration written by Jamaica Kincaid from her book A Small Place.
Jamaica, Social IssuesLIFE AND WORKS OF FRIDA KAHLO, THE
This Masterpiece Series provides a triple treat – a close-up look at the lives and works of the world‘s most famous artists plus three art lessons that focus on the style of each. These lessons reinforce the techniques and skills that the artist used and students will experience hands-on learning.
Art, Biography, MexicoLinda Sara
Linda Sara is the first Puerto Rican film to be nominated for an Oscar. This film is about a love that transcends time and a family about to lose the only thing they own: the house they have lived in since their birth.
Drama, Puerto Rico, Social Life and CustomsLinea De 3: Atenas 2004
This is a series of short film clips that tell stories about people who, in one way or another, are affected by the Olympics. These 11 short stories bring out a lot of different emotions in the viewer; they are comical, sad, and informative. The “cortometrajes” range in length from 4 to 20 minutes.
MexicoLISTA DE ESPERA
A diverse group of Cubans finds itself stuck at a remote bus station. Their shared situation brings them together such that they transform the bus station into a kind of socialist utopia, and when they can finally leave, they don’t want to.
Comedy, Cuba, Social Issues, Social Life and CustomsLIVING JUAREZ
After Mexican President Felipe Calderón declared war on drug cartels in December 2006, thousands of people have died in Mexico. Juarez is now considered the deadliest city in the world and where most of the casualties of the War on Drugs have occurred. Among those killed were youths from the neighborhood of Villas de Salvárcar, whom the government had described as gang members. Living Juarez follows the families of the victims as they speak out against Calderón and the violence in this area.
Country/Region, Mexico, Social Issues, SubjectLo Que Le Paso A Santiago
A song for love and hope. Santiago is retired by the company to which he has dedicated forty years of his life. He is a widower, his children have problems, and he is bothered by materialism and the crisis of values in society. His life takes an unexpected turn when he meets a beautiful and enigmatic woman.
Puerto RicoLolo
Dolores Chimal--known as "Lolo"--lives on the outskirts of Mexico City. He lives a normal life with his family, until one day he is assaulted upon leaving the factory where he works. As a result of the beating, he remains in the hospital for a week and loses his job. This unleashes a series of violent events which causes "Lolo" to lose his sense of right and wrong.
MexicoLos 50 Vividos
Los 50 Vividos offers insight into the intellectual and cultural side of Cuba. The Union de Escritores y Artistas de Cuba (UNEAC) or the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba was founded by Nicolas Guillen, the national poet of Cuba. The film features Guillen’s poems, photos of the various congresses of the UNEAC starting in 1961 through 2008, photos of different festivals, awards, and interviews of the founders of the UNEAC and its major collaborators. The film also includes a section showcasing the music of more than twenty Cuban artists.
Art, Cuba, Culture/Festivals/Food, Music/DanceLos Que Hacen Nuestro Cine
A collection of video shorts that examine the history of Mexican cinema. This volume examines recent movies that have addressed issues concerning power, analyzing particularly the movie Morir en el Golfo (1989).
Cinema/Theater, History, MexicoLOS QUE HICIERON NUESTRO CINE
Cinema/Theater, History, MexicoLow’n’slow: The Art Of Low Riding
Filmed in San Jose, CA, this work by Rick Tejada Flores documents the art and culture of the low riders, and includes an animated title sequence by Chicano artist Rupert Garcia and music by Jorge Santana.
Latinos/Chicanos, USALucia
A classic of Cuban cinema, which looks at the lives of three women, an upper class Lucía in the 1890s, a middle class Lucía in the 1930s, and a working class Lucía in the 1960s.
Classic, Cuba, Drama, History, Social Movements/Resistance, Women's StudiesLuminous Shadows: The Artists Of Eastern Cuba
Breaking new ground in the world of Cuban art, this is the first documentary to focus exclusively on the art and artists from Cuba's easternmost region: Oriente. This film takes the viewer on an insightful journey where one will be introduced to Eastern Cuba's most highly acclaimed painters in this culturally rich region by way of studio visits and interviews as well as excursions into the countryside. A unique and delightful brand of Cuban humor often permeates the content and adds to the emotional and intellectual impact of the story.
Art, CubaLuzia
Set on the vast and beautiful plains of central Brazil, LUZIA is a movie in the tradition of the American western. Luzia is a cowgirl caught in a clash between squatters and the powerful ranch owners. Her extraordinary rodeo skills and stunning beauty attract the attention of the landowners whose history of marauding returns to gain revenge.
BrazilMa Femme Et Le Voisin (My Wife and The Neighbor)
A playful comedy about infidelity and jealously set among members of the urban middle class. Gerard is a young attractive gynecologist who takes advantage of his profession to seduce the women of the neighborhood. His escapades set off a tragic chain of events as one woman's husband confronts the possibility that his wife has been unfaithful.
Comedy, Gender/Sexuality, HaitiMacario
The talents of top director Roberto Gavaldon, novelist B. Traven (The Treasure of the Sierra Madre) and cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa combined to produce this gentle, moving fable on human morality. Macario is a young peasant, despondent over his inability to provide for his family. On the Day of the Dead, he meets Death, disguised as another peasant, who trades him the power to cure the dying for a portion of turkey. Macarios fame spreads around the country, and he soon has a flourishing business until a local doctor decides to call in the Inquisition.
Classic, Drama, MexicoMachuca
Set in 1973, in Santiago, Chile, Machuca is a poignant coming-of-age film, drawn from the filmmaker's childhood. Two boys from different economic backgrounds become great friends, while the conflicts on the streets lead Chile to the bloody and repressive military coup, changing forever their lives, their relationship and their country.
Chile, Drama, History, Social Movements/ResistanceMadagascar
Nominated for best film award and recipient of the Special Jury's Prize in Havana's 1994 film festival, this movie tells the story of a Havana University Physics Professor's torturous relationship with her daughter during the special Period in Cuba. Based on the 1984 short story by Mirta Yáñez "Beatles Contra Duran Duran," the film marks a departure from director Fernando Pérez previous style of documentary-like realism and evokes a hypnotic trance-like feel as it presents generational conflict and the adolescent search for identity as metaphoric representations of post-revolutionary Cuban society.
Cinema/Theater, Cuba, DramaMadame Satã
Born to slaves in the arid wasteland of NortBrazil and sold by his mother at the age of 7 for amule, Joao Francisco dos Santos battled all stereotypes on the mean streets of Lapa, Rio de Janeiro. Jailed for 27 of his 76 years, dos Santos was an explosive figure prone to excessive bouts of violence and moments of extreme tenderness the next. Karim Ainouz's extraordinary and complex portrait of the triumphs and tragedy of this colorful personality unfolds against the vibrant, sordid backgrouns of Lapa in the 1930s> a thronging underworld of pimps and whores, of cut-throats, queers and artists, of dark bars and brotherls thick with smoke, drenched in sweat and cheap perfume. A world filled with violence and raw desire, where desperate dreams spring from poverty and squalor.
Anthropology/Archaeology, Brazil, Culture/Festivals/Food, Drama, Music/Dance, Social IssuesMadres De La Plaza De Mayo, Las
This Academy award-nominated documentary about the Argentinean mothers' movement to demand to know the fate of 30,000 "disappeared" sons and daughters is extraordinary. As well as giving an understanding of Argentinean history in the 70's and 80's, it shows the empowerment of women in a society where they are expected to be silent.
Argentina, History, Social Movements/ResistanceMaestra
In 1961, over 250,000 Cubans joined their country's National Literacy Campaign and taught 707,000 other Cubans to read and write. Almost half of these volunteer teachers were under 18. More than half were women. Narrated by Alice Walker, MAESTRA (Spanish for "Teacher") explores the experiences of eight women who, as young girls, helped eradicate Cuban illiteracy within one year. Interweaving recent interviews, archival footage, and Campaign photos, this lively documentary includes one of the first Cubans of her generation to call herself a feminist and one of the first openly proud members of Cuba's LGBT community. With wit and spirit, all recall negotiating for autonomy and independence in a culture still bound by patriarchal structures.
Cuba, Gender/Sexuality, Literature, Politics/Human Rights, Social Issues, Social Movements/ResistanceMan Who Copied, The
omance and intrigue await a poor copy machine operator who learns that counterfeiting and murder are a lethal combination in this enthralling Brazilian thriller that blends good-humored romanticism, poignant social observations and exciting criminal action. Fresh from his success in the acclaimed hit Madame Sat, handsome Lzaro Ramos stars as 20 year-old Andre, a dreamer whose days consist of working at a copying store while at night he draws comic book fantasies and spies on Silvia (Leandra Leal), the beautiful clothing store salesgirl who lives across the street. After he summons enough courage to meet her, their lives take an unpredictable turn when the lure of cash proves to be too great a temptation. In combining magical realism and comedy, director Jorge Furtado creates a new cinematic vision that is propelled by a lively soundtrack and a first-class ensemble cast.
Art, Brazil, Comedy, Drama, Economics/Development, Social IssuesManda Bala (Send A Bullet)
An examination of corruption and class warfare in Brazil as told through the stories of a wealthy businessman, a plastic surgeon who assists kidnapping victims and a politician whose income relies on a frog farm.
BrazilMango Yellow
Short stories revolving around a bar and a hotel in Recife, unveil a mosaic of exotic characters living in the Brazilian underground: a butcher married with an evangelical woman, a necrophile in love with a bar owner, a transvestite, and many others.
Art, Brazil, Culture/Festivals/Food, Drama, Gender/Sexuality, Social IssuesManuel Zapata Olivella: Abridor De Caminos
As one of the most prominent Afro-Colombian figures of the 20th century, Manuel Zapata Olivella did many things to promote Colombian culture and the history of African-descended peoples in Colombia. This documentary deals with various aspects of his versatile and prolific career.
Anthropology/Archaeology, Biography, ColombiaMANUELA
Cuba, History, Social Movements/ResistanceMaquila: A Tale Of Two Mexicos
This film examines the impact of corporate globalization on Mexico, focusing on the maquiladoras, U.S.-owned factories employing cheap Mexican labor. Archival footage and interviews provide historical background to the present crisis.
Economics/Development, Mexico, Social Issues, USAMargarette’s Feast
The film tells an allegory of Brazil's social struggles without words while making use of Brazilian music. After losing his job, goodhearted but penniless Pedro comes into possession of a miraculous suitcase that never runs out of money, allowing him to throw an extravagant birthday party for his wife.
Art, Brazil, Cinema/Theater, Music/Dance, Social IssuesMaria
Based on a novel by Jorge Isaacs. This third cinematographic version of the famous story is a classical representation of Latin American melodrama. Maria is the story of Efraín, a young man who returns to the Valley of Cauca after having spent six years in a college in Bogotá. In his hometown he is pleasantly surprised by his cousin María who has become a beautiful adolescent.
Colombia, Drama, History, LiteratureMaria Candelaria
This classic of Mexican cinema begins when a young woman reporter interviewing a world-famous artist, asks him about a painting of a nude Indian girl he had done years before and which he never revealed. The painter replies that it was the cause of a tragedy and proceeds to tell its story. Maria, a woman who lives in Xochimilco, struggles with the owner of the general store, to whom she owes money, her love for Lorenzo, and the artist who tries at all costs to paint the portrait of the beautiful woman who he had noticed at the market.
Classic, Drama, MexicoMaría Cano
When María Cano (Maria Eugenia Dávila) was recruited into the labor movement in Colombia in 1925 she was prepared for the revolution to come. She worked strenuously to organize workers becoming something of a folk hero. What she was not prepared for, after her five years of imprisonment (beginning 1928), was that the whole movement would lose steam and that she would have to live the rest of her life with her lost dreams of what might have been. These feelings are very strongly represented in her poetry. This biographical movie shows her life during those years, and considers her bitterness in later life
Colombia, Drama, Social Movements/ResistanceMaria Llena De Gracia (Maria Full Of Grace)
Maria Alvarez, a bright, spirited 17-year-old Colombian is desperate to leave her job stripping thorns from flowers. Maria accepts a lucrative offer to transport packets of heroin – which she must swallow – to the United States. The ruthless world of international drug trafficking proves to be more than Maria bargained for. This dramatic thriller builds toward a conclusion so powerful and revealing it could only be based on a thousand true stories.
Colombia, Drama, Social IssuesMariachi, El
The critically-acclaimed film debut from Robert Rodríguez, shot with no second takes using borrowed equipment and a talented cast of unknowns. A case of deadly mistaken identity leads the protagonist, who aspires only to be a mariachi, to trade his guitar for a gun and play for his life in this vision of bandido violence in Mexico.
Border, Drama, Mexico, Social Issues, USAMariposas En El Andamio / Butterflies On The Scaffold
A rare view of what day-to-day life is like for the gay and drag community in modern Cuba. This award-winning documentary is the first since the 1959 revolution to examine the issues gays and transvestites face in the context of evolving attitudes towards homosexuality in Cuba, where people are judged first on what they achieve for their country.
Cuba, Gender/SexualityMarquez: Tales Beyond Solitude
In this rare exclusive interview, Nobel Prize-winner Gabriel Garcia Márquez speaks about his best -selling novels, his role in the Latin American cinema, and his recent foray into--of all things--melodramatic soap opera. By mixing material shot in Colombia and Cuba, with historical footage and clips from his films, this video paints an impressive portrait of one of South America's most expressive novelists.
Latin AmericaMas Vampiros En La Habana
In this animated film, a sequel to the original Vampiros en la Habana, multiple scientific discoveries are made that allow vampires to go out into the sun. Many people want control of the substance, and are willing to fight for it.
Animated, CubaMasks Of Mexico: The Art Of An Enduring Culture
This documentary goes on location to rarely seen gatherings in remote villages where masks are still an essential part of festivals such as Day of the Dead, Corpus Christi and Winter Celebrations. This video traces the ritual use of masks, beginning with Aztec priests and warriors, and explores the influence of Spanish friars who used masks to spread the teachings of Christianity. The result is a vibrant blend of indigenous and European traditions that gives this art form its distinctive flavor.
Art, Culture/Festivals/Food, Mexico, Music/DanceMassacre Do Corumbiara, O
"O Massacre de Corumbiara" advocates the need for radical agrarian reform in Brazil through an emotional examination of a massacre of peaceful, landless rural laborers by the military police in the Amazonian state of Rondônia in August 1995. It includes testimony from witnesses to the massacre and provides a side of the story ignored or simplified by most of the mainstream press. Filmed by Georges Bourdoukan and the Chico Mendes Committee three days after the killings, the video brings the plight of landless Brazilians to non-Brazilian eyes.
BrazilMaster and Slaves / Casa Grande e Senzala Parts 1 to 4
A discussion of the 1933 text Casa Grande & Senzala (Masters and Slaves) by Brazilian anthropologist and historian, Gilberto Freyre, this documentary consists of four 1-hour segments. The camera follows Prof. Edson Nery, friend and biographer of Freyre, on an exploration of Brazils colonial past that blurs the lines between history, art, and the social sciences. In addition to explaining the circumstances of colonization it also examines the darker, sensual side of Brazil's past in an attempt to define what the country is today.
Brazil, HistoryMaya, The
This great exhibit shows the expressive aesthetic language and historical testimony of an admirable civilization. This is the first presentation of the maya civilization that has covered all the regions of their geographical extension, all the periods of its history and all the diversity of the people who forged it.
Anthropology/Archaeology, Indigenous Peoples, MexicoMayan Voices: American Lives
Set in Indiantown, Florida, a small, agricultural town 30 miles west of West Palm Beach, this film illustrates the challenges of a totally alien environment, exploring issues of identity, cultural integration, migration, and social change. It also demonstrated the impact 5,000 new immigrants with a foreign language and culture is having on the still predominantly white community.
Latinos/Chicanos, USAMayas U Su’ut Ka’ansah
Filmed in the states of Quintana Roo and Yucatán, "U Su'us Ka'ansah (The Cycle of Teaching) depicts the living ancestral science within Mayan communities. We are given the opportunity to partake in their cultural practices, experiences, and knowledge, as well as their unique ways of thinking. In addition, the documentary reveals ancient Mayan principles which are still present in Yucatán communities today. We are presented with the problems surrounding their language, customs, ceremonies, traditional medicinal practices, products, and land, and how these endanger their cultural identity and ancestral knowledge.
Anthropology/Archaeology, Country/Region, Culture/Festivals/Food, History, Indigenous Peoples, Mexico, Social Life and Customs, SubjectMemorias De Un Mexicano / Memories Of A Mexican
The pioneer film maker Salvador Toscano portrayed the key events and figures of the Mexican Revolution from 1904 to 1924. Capturing the flavor and reality of war-torn Mexico, the film presents the political and military upheaval that shaped present day Mexico using exclusive, authentic footage. It also describes the women's role in Mexico during this period.
Biography, Literature, MexicoMerida Proscrita
Made by Raul Ferrera-Balanquet. An exceptionally lyrical and visual video about the encounter of two young gay Mexican men in the city of Mérida
Gender/Sexuality, MexicoMexican Prehispanic Cultures
This film takes a look at the cultural wealth of prehispanic Mexico: the civilizations of the Toltecs, the Aztecs, the Mayas, and their legacies are explored. Intended for younger audiences. An Educational Video Network film.
Anthropology/Archaeology, History, Indigenous Peoples, MexicoMexico For Children. Vol 2 The Geography Of Mexico
This volume focuses on how Mexicos geography has shaped its history, society and culture. Travel through a variety of land formations and regions from the desert in Sonora to the lush rainforests of Chiapas, and see how location and climate have impacted the settlement patterns and lifestyles of Mexicans. Learn about the major industries like silver mining and tourism, and appreciate the exceptionality and diversity of the Gulf Coast regions animal and plant life.
MexicoMexico For Children. Vol 3 The History Of Mexico
This volume focuses on the obstacles that Mexico has overcome throughout history to become an independent, self-governing nation. Explore history topics from the time of the Olmec through the time of independence fights as well as other more contemporary events. Understand the Father Hidalgo and Benito Juarez, and see why freedom has been so important to this proud nation.
MexicoMexico For Children. Vol1. The Culture Of Mexico
This volume focuses on the rich cultural heritage of Mexico and how it affects the daily lives of its citizens. Students will find that Mexico’s indigenous people and Spanish rule have influenced the ceremonial dress, folktales, foods and holidays of Mexico. Explored topics include the music of Tejano bands, the artwork of Diego Rivera and Talavera pottery from Puebla.
MexicoMi Niño Tizoc
Based in Mexico, a poor man struggles to make ends meet while facing the adversity of socioeconomic prejudice. Finances become worse once his ten-year-old son becomes seriously ill, and the man must find the means to heal his son.
Drama, Indigenous Peoples, MexicoMiami-Havana
This documentary depicts the story of the two Cuban worlds of Miami and Havana, and the social, cultural, and political processes that have created this divide since 1959. It provides many touching moments that portray the difficulties of this fragmentation, as well as the ideological struggles in both communities. An excellent point of departure for considering the Cuban Revolution, migration and communities of exile. Produced by the Institute for Policy Studies, USA
Cuba, Latinos/Chicanos, Social IssuesMiddle Of The World, The
Romao, illiterate and unemployed, feels destiny drawing him on an odyssey to Rio de Janeiro in pursuit of a job and a decent life. Based on a true story, the movie follows a family of seven on a journay 2000 miles across the hinterlands of Brazil on bicycles. Along the way, director Vicente Amorim beautifully explores the inner dynamics of a family facing a great challenge. The Middle of the World is an unimaginable road movie, both graceful and tender, about having the courage to pursue your dream.
Brazil, Cinema/Theater, Drama, Social Issues, TravelMiel Para Oshun
Taken from Cuba as a child by his father, Roberto returns to the island 32 years later in search of his mother. He soon finds his American customs in conflict with those of his birthplace. Also, he discovers new revelations about his family history: though told his mother had abandoned him, Roberto learns from his cousin Pilar that his wealthy father had kidnapped him when fleeing the Revolution- leaving behind his poor black mother. Roberto, Pilar, and a driver named Antonio then take up a journey through Cuba to track her down, only to make more shocking discoveries along the way.
Cuba, Drama, Gender/Sexuality, Social IssuesMil Nubes De Paz / A Thousand Clouds Of Peace
Gerardo, a gay teenager, roams the streets of Mexico City in search of someone able to reveal the secret, hidden between the lines of a goodbye letter from his ex-lover. In his journey through barren alleys and roadways, he is haunted by images: each masculine body he sees reminds him of his lover.
Drama, Gender/Sexuality, Mexico, Social IssuesMilagro De Tepeyac, El
Released in 1917, this silent film focuses on the apparitions of the Virgin of Guadalupe in Mexico. Lupita, a young woman in Mexico is concerned about her fiancée's trip to Europe because of the war. The woman asks for the intervention of Guadalupe to protect him.
Art, Cinema/Theater, Classic, Drama, MexicoMilk of Sorrow, The / La Teta Asustada
Fausta suffers from "The Milk of Sorrow", an illness transmitted through mother's milk by women who've been raped during Peru's Civil Wars. Stricken with the fear the she's contracted the illness from her mother's break milk -- Fausta goes to extreme lengths to protect her own sexuality and safety. After her mother's sudden death, she finds herself compelled to embark on a frightening journey for re-awakening, freedom and wholeness.
Gender/Sexuality, Peru, Social IssuesMiss Mary
Between pre-war Buenos Aires and the turbulence of Peron's Argentina are remembrances of things past. This is the story of Miss Mary (Julie Christie) the compassionate English governess and the wealthy family that lives and dies by their inflated sense of tradition and of the broad political events and intimate personal dramas that will carve their destinies.
Argentina, Drama, Social IssuesMissao de Pesquisas Folcloricas Cadernetas de Campo
This DVD brings the field notebooks used by the researchers sent to the North and Northeast of the Country in 1938 by the then director of the Department of Culture of Sao Paulo, Mario de Andrade. Material, until now inaccessible to the Folkloric Research Mission, the books were digitized, transcribed and their images edited in an interactive program, in addition to being illustrated by the material recorded by the team, such as photographs, films and phonograms. Navigation can be carried out from each small notebook, with a reading centered on the notes of each researcher, or by the team's itinerary, whose diary organized by Flavia camargo Toni allows diving and understanding of the activities carried out day by day by members of the Mission.
Anthropology/Archaeology, Brazil, Indigenous Peoples, Social Life and CustomsMissing
John Shea, Sissy Spacek, Jack Lemmon. A young American journalist mysteriously disappears during the violent 1973 military coup in Chile. When his wife and father attempt to find him, they are confronted with a deeply disturbing political reality relating to their own country and the country they are investigating. A 1982 Cannes Film Festival winner.
Biography, Chile, Drama, History, Latin America, Politics/Human Rights, Social Movements/Resistance, USAMomias, Las
This film documents “The Accidental Mummies of Guanajuato” exhibition which appeared at the Natural Science Center of Greensboro, NC in 2012. The history of the city of Guanajuato, Mexico, through the lens of its “accidental mummies”, is explained by historians, architects, anthropologists, and forensics teams. The mummies and crypts are carefully preserved and contribute to the city’s rich cultural heritage.
Anthropology/Archaeology, Colonial, Culture/Festivals/Food, Mexico, Social Life and CustomsMontaña De Luz
On a Honduran mountainside overlooking vast fields of sugar cane, a six-year-old boy named Marlon dreams of becoming an artist. Twelve-year-old Inri dreams of attending university. Little Yorleni simply dreams of having a family. Meet the children of the Montaña de Luz orphanage, their lives a living testament to the beauty and innocence of childhood in the face of adversity beyond their years. With artistry and honesty, the camera paints a stirring portrait of a loving community where nothing is truly certain but hope and where each birthday is a celebration of dreams fulfilled and dreams to come.
Biography, Chile, Drama, History, Latin America, Politics/Human Rights, Social Movements/Resistance, USAMoon – woman’s Sisters, The: Highland Guatemala Weavings
Several Maya women in the Highland community of Comalapa share their insights into the art of weaving and its place and importance in their lives. Directed by Julia Kellman and Phil Miller and filmed on location in Guatemala and Honduras. Produced by Conejo Productions.
Art, Guatemala, Honduras, Indigenous PeoplesMoro No Brasil
This film is a musical road trip deep into the heart of Brazil. Along the trip, the director showcases the diversity and richness of the Brazilian Music.
Brazil, Music/DanceMorristown: In The Air And Sun
This film is the working classes' response to globalization. It engages the audience in the issues of immigration, factory flight, and the organized demand for economic justice. Filmed over an 8-year period in the mountains of east Tennessee, interior Mexico, and Ciudad Juarez, this documentary is rooted in the authentic expression of workers who speak about their lives, work, disappointments, and hope. These conversations are combined with scenes in factories, fields, union halls, Mexican stores, city parks, and employment agencies. The documentary travels to the U.S.-Mexican border (El Paso – Juarez) to create deeper understanding of factory flight out of Morristown, and to interior Mexico to look at the forces that cause immigration. The film ends with a stunning union victory at a large poultry processing plant in Morristown, Tennessee.
Mexico, USAMuerte De Un Burocrata
The story of a young man's attempt to fight the system is an entertaining, hilarious account of galloping bureaucracy and the tyranny of red tape
Cuba, Drama, Social Issues, Social Movements/ResistanceMuerto, El
Based on a short story by Jorge Luis Borges. This is the anecdote of the inescapable destiny of Benjamín Otálora, a man from the suburbs of Buenos Aires who became a leader of a band of smugglers in the Brazilian frontier.
ArgentinaMujer de Benjamin, La
Seventeen-year old Natividad is bored with her life in her village. Meanwhile Benjamin, fifty something, fat, and the fool of the village, is in love with Natividad. Incited by his friends, Benjamin decides to kidnap her. Leandro, Natividad's boyfriend, interferes in the kidnapping and unleashes a violent episode which determines the fate of Natividad and restores the deteriorated image of Benjamin in the eyes of the villagers.
Drama, Gender/Sexuality, Mexico, Social Life and CustomsMujeres Cubanas: Marcadas por el Paraiso
They were the women a man would silence. Robbed of their dignity and hope, they became his anonymous victims. Political prisoners, wives, mothers, writers, artists, children, lost at sea Forgotten over and over. Once deprived of their voices, they now speak.
Cuba, Latinos/Chicanos, USAMuralla Verde, La
A young family, determined to escape the pressures of life in Lima, struggles to exist in the exotic, overgrown Peruvian jungle. Godoy's autobiographical story is perhaps the most honored Peruvian film of all time.
Biography, Drama, Environment/Geography, Peru, Social IssuesMusic Of The Maya
Produced by Samuel Franco, director of the Casa K'OJM, a private non-profit educational research center in Antigua, Guatemala dedicated to the preservation of Maya culture through music this video shows us live footage of music during daily life and special ceremonies throughout Guatemala, particularly in the Highlands. Narrated by Samuel Franco.
Culture/Festivals/Food, Guatemala, Indigenous Peoples, Music/Dance, Social Life and CustomsMusic Of Yaracuey Venezuela, The
This documentary deals with the rich cultural and musical heritage of the people of the province of Yaracuey in Venezuela. It shows local people's participation in genres as diverse as folklore music and classical and especially emphasizes the strong tradition of music instruction for children in the Casa Yaracuey. There is good footage of local dances, fiestas and interviews with poetas campesinos (farmer poets). Produced by Cartón de Venezuela.
Culture/Festivals/Food, Music/Dance, VenezuelaMusical Instruments And Genres Of Peru Lambayeque
The musical panorama of the region of Lambayeque shows the role placed by musical instruments and genres in delineating different cultural spheres, as well as in the conflict between traditional and modern expressions. Two large areas can be distinguished: those of the coast and of the mountains. Each expresses itself in music differently, even when both use the same musical instruments. The coastal town draws on African traditions. Communications and popular urban music have also influenced this area, significantly changing Lambayeque's musical panorama.
Music/Dance, PeruMy Filmmaking, My Life
An intriguing documentary on the life of the renowned and vibrant filmmaker. Landeta is seen in her 70's remembering her productive years. Includes interview with filmmaker Marcela Fernandez Violante.
Biography, Cinema/Theater, MexicoMy Footsteps In Baragua
On the history in Cuba of an extensive West Indian community (consisting of people from Jamaica, Barbados, & many others)
Anthropology/Archaeology, Cuba, Culture/Festivals/Food, Social Life and CustomsNa-Na
The charming story of the brief meeting of two children from opposite socioeconomic status. One is a girl from the countryside, the other, a boy from the city on his way to the United States.
CubaNadies, Los
This documentary deals with the development of the life of a group of children living in the street. It reflects diverse individual and group stories revealing the codes that exist between them. The film was shot with two cameras, one of them used by the children and the other by the directors.
Argentina, Social IssuesNatives: Immigrant Bashing On The Border
This film depicts the disturbing increase in racism, violence and intolerance along the US-Mexican border in recent years. NATIVES examines the concerns of some of the individuals involved in San Diego's anti-immigrant movement. Relying principally on a cinema vérité style and avoiding explanatory narration, the film seeks to critique the nativist position by contrasting their professed love for their country with their racist and anti-democratic attitudes.
Border, Mexico, Migration/Immigration, USANazarin
Buñuel's greatest depiction of religious hypocrisy. This adaptation of the novel by Benito Perez Galdos Nazarín tells the story of a simple priest who tries to live by Christian precepts and becomes an outcast and an outlaw. Considered one of the most controversial of Buñuel's works.
MexicoNegra Angustias, La
Daughter of a rebel, Angustias is ostracized for her refusal to marry, her independence, and her scorn for men. She falls in love, only to be rejected because of her race and class which cause her to return to her role as a revolutionary.
Classic, Drama, Gender/Sexuality, History, Mexico, Social Movements/ResistanceNew Audiences For Mexican Music
A three-part documentary. Part I describes the phenomenon of banda dance music sweeping the Unites States and Mexico. Part II provides a history of mariachi music and its fusions with country-western and other styles, while Part III profiles Tejano music.
Mexico, Music/Dance, USANew Muslim Cool
Jason Perez, a.k.a “Hamza” is a Puerto Rican American man who grew up in Massachussets. Raised as a Catholic, he experienced a conversion to Islam after being imprisoned. This conversion was a turning point in his life and afterwards he formed a rap group through which he expresses bonds of solidarity with the Muslim community in Pittsburgh and in the United States. After his mosque is raided by the FBI for unclear reasons, Hamza begins giving anti-drug talks as a spiritual speaker in a jail of Pittsburgh, where he unites inmates of different racial and religious backgrounds. Hamza also looks for new alliances with a Jewish writer and both of them start using music and poetry as means for spiritual and social expressions through which the youth can channel their aspirations and frustrations.
Politics/Human Rights, Religion, Social Life and Customs, USANew World Border
New World Border documents the rise in human rights abuses along the U.S.-Mexico border since the implementation of border blockades, which have been erected in populated areas throughout the border region during the last decade. This film includes interviews with immigrant rights organizers, testimony from immigrants, analysis of “free trade” policies & current efforts to build a vibrant movement for immigrant rights.
Border, Country/Region, Economics/Development, Environment/Geography, Mexico, Subject, USANicolas Y Los Demas
A simple story about complicated people, this movie is about the casual meeting of two friends who have not seen each other in twentysome years. While beginning with humorous satire and irony, the story takes a dramatic turn.
Drama, Puerto RicoNiña Santa, La / Holy Girl
After choir rehearsals, two teenage girls, Amalia and Josefina, get together in the parish church to discuss faith, vocation and kissing. Not far from Josefina's house is the run-down Hotel Termas, owned by Amalia's family, where she lives with her mother Helena. A chance encounter between Amalia and Dr. Jano, who is attending a medical conference at the hotel, allows the young girl to at last find her vocation.
ArgentinaNiños De Zapata
A documentary about the Zapatista National Liberation Army's struggle to attain justice for the Maya Indians of Chiapas. The film includes footage of various figures in the movement, including the elusive subcomandante Marcos. Produced by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
Mexico, Politics/Human Rights, Social Movements/ResistanceNo Habra Mas Penas Ni Olvido
Petty rivalries erupt into a local civil war in this satire of political and human follies. Based on the novel by Osvaldo Soriano.
ArgentinaNo Nos Tientes
This film, narrated by Edward James Olmos, presents a forceful analysis of the possibilities for radical change through Guatemalan student protest. Shot in urban ghettos, rural villages and jungle encampments, this documentary reveals the immediate and personal struggle of a cross-section of the country's population during the forty years of civil war. Recommended for undergraduates and high school students.
Guatemala, Politics/Human Rights, Social Issues, Social Movements/ResistanceNOAM CHOMSKY: NEW WORLD ORDER
Country/Region, Latin America, Politics/Human Rights, Subject, USANoche De Los Lapices, La
The brutal kidnapping, torture, and killing of six out of seven high school students in 1976 is the subject of this powerful docudrama, a highly-charged, emotionally gripping condemnation of Argentina's military rulers at that time. One of the students survived the ordeal, and this story is based on his experiences and knowledge of the tortures they endured under a military government that laid down oppressive restrictions on student activities
Argentina, Social Movements/ResistanceNorte, El
Mayan Indian peasants organize in an effort to improve their lot in life. After the army destroys their village and kills their family, a teenage brother and sister decide they must flee to El Norte. After receiving clandestine help from friends and humorous advice from a veteran immigrant on strategies for traveling through Mexico, they arrive in Los Angeles, where they try to make a new life as young, uneducated, and illegal immigrants.
Border, Drama, Latinos/Chicanos, Mexico, Migration/Immigration, USANosotras Tambien
This is a story based on real testimonies about women and AIDS.
MexicoNostalgia de la Luz / Nostalgia For The Light
For his new film director Patricio Guzmán, famed for his political documentaries (The Battle of Chile, The Pinochet Case), travels 10,000 feet above sea level to the driest place on earth, the Atacama Desert, where atop the mountains astronomers from all over the world gather to observe the stars. The sky is so translucent that it allows them to see right to the boundaries of the universe. The Atacama is also a place where the harsh heat of the sun keeps human remains intact: those of Pre-Columbian mummies; 19th century explorers and miners; and the remains of political prisoners, “disappeared” by the Chilean army after the military coup of September, 1973. So while astronomers examine the most distant and oldest galaxies, at the foot of the mountains, women, surviving relatives of the disappeared whose bodies were dumped here, search, even after twenty-five years, for the remains of their loved ones, to reclaim their families’ histories. Melding the celestial quest of the astronomers
Chile, Country/Region, Environment/Geography, Politics/Human Rights, SubjectNovia Que Te Vea
Two young Jewish girls, born Mexican, shape their lives under the pressures of the early sixties and their own awareness of conflicting loyalties. The subject of the life of the Jewish community within the ethnic complexity of modern urban Mexico is new to the Mexican cinema. Novia que te vea reveals the cultural diversity of the Jewish community and the social and political attitudes that flourish in it.
Drama, Gender/Sexuality, Mexico, ReligionNueba Yol
In this comedy, a Dominican widower, Balbuena (Luisito Martí), decides to leave the economic strictures of island life behind for the streets-are-paved-with-gold promise of the Big Apple.
Comedy, Dominican Republic, Latinos/Chicanos, USANueba Yol 3
In this comically-numbered sequel, Balbuena (Luisito Martí) returns to New York, where he must marry an American citizen to remain in the country legally.
Comedy, Dominican Republic, Latinos/Chicanos, USANuestra Comunidad
This film documents the personal experiences and work environments of migrant workers living in North Carolina and examines the impact of their arrival on their newly adopted communities. The debate about whether illegal immigrants should be living and working in the United States is central to this film. Through many interviews with policy-makers, immigrants, religious officials, human rights workers and North Carolina residents, a complete picture of the opinions that fuel the debate is provided here. The film also examines the contours of cultural encounter and prospects for the future for these new southerners.
Latinos/Chicanos, Migration/Immigration, Politics/Human Rights, Social Issues, USANuestro Siglo: La Historia De Los Chilenos En El Siglo Xx
this successful television series is the story of how the big changes and events of the century have affected our lives. It is a story told from the experiences of the people. It is a story of big people who left footprints and of the people who participated or witnessed the significant Chilean historical events.
ChileNueve Reinas / Nine Queens
A polished, vastly entertaining and elaborate caper film, as well as a sharp character study that examines the question of honor among thieves. Juan is a small-time crook who gets caught conning a convenience store clerk, and Marcos is a big-time swindler who steps in to "arrest" him with the hope of recruiting him for a bigger job obtaining a counterfeit collection of some extremely rare stamps known as the Nine Queens.
Argentina, Drama, Social IssuesNumeros Y Colores
Two stories designed to teach children how to identify numbers, colors and figures in Spanish.
Animated, USAO outro lado da rua / The Other Side Of The Street
Regina, a lonely and retired grandmother, defies social expectations maintaining a very active lifestyle in Rio de Janeiro's urban life. She does this largely by supplying the police with tips on criminal activities in the area. When she witnesses what she believes is a murder across the street, she tries to obtain incriminating statements from the supposed perpetrator but in the process her whole world changes...
Anthropology/Archaeology, Brazil, Cinema/Theater, Drama, Gender/Sexuality, Social IssuesÓ Pai, Ó
During the Carnival in the historical site of Pelourinho (Salvador, Bahia, Brazil), we follow the lives of the tenants of a falling-to-pieces tenement house who try to get by using creativity, irony, humor and music.
Brazil, Culture/Festivals/Food, Drama, Gender/Sexuality, Music/Dance, Social Life and CustomsOAXACA
History, MexicoOdo Ya! Life With Aids
A poetic documentary exploration of efforts by members of the Afro-Brazilian communities in São Paulo, Rio de Janeiro, and Salvador, Bahia, Brazil to combat the spread of AIDS by drawing from their own cultural and religious traditions.
Brazil, Culture/Festivals/Food, Health, Religion, Social IssuesOFRENDA, LA: THE DAYS OF THE DEAD
Art, Culture/Festivals/Food, Latinos/Chicanos, Religion, USAOfrenda, La: The Days Of The Dead
Made by Lourdes Portillo and Susana Muñoz. The very young, the old, and the deceased are all represented in this personal and affectionate filmmaker's relationship to the history, and present-day celebrations of the Day of the Dead.
Art, Culture/Festivals/Food, Latinos/Chicanos, Religion, USAOggun, An External Presence
In Oggun, Gloria Rolando relates the mythical story of the Yoruba god Oggun, the tireless warrior who, enamored of his mother, decided as punishment to imprison himself in the mountains: Only Ochun, goddess of love, succeeded in captivating him when she let fall a few drops of honey on the lips of the god of metal, war, progress, and civilization. This documentary includes chants, dances, a "tambor" (Yoruba religious ceremony with the bata drums), and the experiences of Lázaro Ros, a legendary Akpwon, or lead singer in the Yoruba tradition, who not only made his the beauty of the African chants, but had the opportunity to sing them in trips throughout the world.
Cuba, Gender/Sexuality, Music/Dance, ReligionOlvidados, Los
This 1950 masterpiece, directed by Luis Buñuel, portrays the misery of poverty with an astounding starkness. Poor children of Mexican slums are the primary subjects of this unconstrained vision of poverty. In many big cities, behind the large buildings are areas of complete misery. Children are malnourished, there are no schools, sanitation is not up to par and delinquents abound. Los Olvidados has been called a work of free art, a testimonial, an aesthetic expression of moral conscience. The film is an effective protest against human cruelty.
Economics/Development, Mexico, Social IssuesOn The Case Of Rosalie Evans
A historical discussion among North American and Mexican historians about the diary and life of Rosalie Evans, a disgruntled North American property owner who lost her land during the Mexican Revolution
Gender/Sexuality, History, Mexico, USAOnce Upon a Time in Rio
De and Nina come from opposite worlds; he is a working-class guy who lives in the favelas; she is a high-class student who lives in a bubble of wealth and so-called-safety. Crossing all boundaries of Rio's social apartheid, they end up falling in love at the common-grounds of Ipanema beach. Inevitably, growing from the guts of a magical city, their true love test every limit of a fractured society.
Brazil, Drama, Gender/Sexuality, Politics/Human Rights, Social IssuesOnda No Ar, Uma / Something In The Air
This is a comedy drama that captures the joy and sadness of life in much of South America. It is based on the true story of four friends who decide to install a communal pirate radio station. Called Rádio Favela, this station is erected in a shanty-town to give voice to the outcasts' complaints.
BrazilOrfeu
The legend of Orpheus and Eurydice is retold against the madness of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. The story is enhanced by brilliant performances, thrilling music, and magnificent color photography.
Brazil, Classic, Country/Region, SubjectOrfeu Negro / Black Orpheus
The legend of Orpheus and Eurydice is retold against the madness of Carnival in Rio de Janeiro. The story is enhanced by brilliant performances, thrilling music, and magnificent color photography.
BrazilOriana
Feature film by Fina Torres, director of the international hit Celestial Clockwork, and winner of the Camera dOr at the Cannes Film Festival. An important historical milestone in Latin American cinema, Oriana is a film about Maria, a young woman who returns to the home of her aunt Oriana in the Venezuelan jungle, where she spent summers as a child. Oriana has passed away and willed the house to Maria. When Maria returns to prepare the house for sale, she is struck by various memories of her time there as a child, memories that gradually lead her to discover a secret that had been kept for decades.
VenezuelaOrisha Tradition, The: The Gods In Exile
A documentary about the mixture of Catholic and Afro-Brazilian religious traditions.
Brazil, ReligionOro Maldito
Themes of greed and redemption weave through this story of a young man's obsessive search for gold. His quest takes him deep into the jungle and into fateful encounters with other "beings" in Bolivia's tropical region of Cochabamba.
Bolivia, Drama, Indigenous Peoples, Social IssuesOtra Conquista, La
The synthetic cultural identities resulting from the forcible conversion of Mexico's indigenous people by the Spanish are explored through the eyes of Cortes's mistress Tecuíchpo and a fictional half-brother, the illegitimate son of Montezuma II
Drama, History, Indigenous Peoples, MexicoOtro Francisco, El
An impassioned exploration of the roots of black rebellion in nineteenth-century Cuba, based on a famous Cuban anti-slavery novel of the period.
Cuba, Politics/Human Rights, Social Movements/ResistanceOtro Lado, El
Americans simply pass through the turnstiles for cheap thrills in Tijuana. Mexicans on the other side, however, face endless barriers of barbed wire, attack dogs, and armed border patrols. Alex Webb captures the odd panorama of the border.
Border, Latinos/Chicanos, Mexico, USAOur Brand Is Crisis
For decades, U.S. strategists-for-hire have been quietly molding the opinions of voters and the messages of candidates in elections around the world. This documentary is an astounding look at one of their campaigns and its earth-shattering aftermath. With flabbergasting access to think sessions, media training and the making of smear campaigns, we watch how the consultants', including James Carville, marketing strategies shape the relationship between a leader and his people. The film is a shocking example of how the all-American art of branding can affect the "spreading of democracy" overseas.
Social Issues, USAOwners Of The Water: Conflict And Collaboration Over Rivers
The Xavante of central Brazil and the Wayuu of Venezuela are two indigenous groups who both face considerable challenges in their efforts to maintain control over and access to one of the most basic of natural resources, fresh water. In this compelling documentary an anthropologist from the United States collaborates with a member of the Xavante and a member of the Wayuu to explore the ways in which indigenous peoples are responding to threats to their environment and natural resources. The film focuses primarily on efforts by the Xavante to combat the deforestation and excessive use of agritoxins associated with the expanding Brazilian soy industry that threatens the viability of the Rio das Mortes as a viable water source. Through a focus on this particular movement, the filmmakers explore the close connection between the the goals of protecting our environment and defending the interests of indigenous peoples, as well as an growing solidarity among indigenous peoples throughout South America that is centered around mobilization with respect to environmental issues.
Brazil, Economics/Development, Environment/Geography, Indigenous Peoples, Social Movements/Resistance, VenezuelaPa Poder Que Nos Den Tierra
In Colombia's Cauca region, the Nasa (Paez) people's movement known as "Freedom for Mother Earth" has long fought to recover their lands. This video documents the group's recent protest, which resulted in harsh reprisals and suffering for the community.
Colombia, Indigenous Peoples, Social Movements/ResistancePais de los Pueblos Sin Dueños, El
The documentary features the voices of indigenous peoples, campesinos, Afro-Colombians, trade unionists, students, displaced peoples and all those who mobilized in the Social and Communitarian Minga in October and November of 2008.
Colombia, Economics/Development, Indigenous Peoples, Social Issues, Social Movements/ResistancePajaros Tirandole La Escopeta, Los
A humorous portrayal of romance, this light comedy presents a typical young Cuban couple, sexually liberated, who nonetheless cannot cope with the affair between his mother and her father. A commentary of the generation gap and machismo.
Comedy, Cuba, Social IssuesPampa Barbara
Towards 1830, during the government of Juan Manuel de Rosas, the head of a Pampan bunker accompanies a group of women destined to his troops. The main character of this classic film is upset at the presence of women in the frontier territories, remembering the loss of his mother in the hands of an Indian.
Argentina, Social IssuesPanama Deception / El Engaño de Panamá
Banned in Panama and labeled "subversive" in the United States, The Panama Deception gives an account of the events of 1989, when 26,000 U.S. government troops invaded the country searching for one man, Manuel Noriega. Made by a group of independent filmmakers, the film documents the atrocities that the official story omits. Includes follow-up interviews with the film's creators, and several bonus features concerning Panama, Latin America, and Iraq.
Latinos/Chicanos, Panama, Social Movements/Resistance, USAPapeles Secundarios
Awarded best film in 1990 at the New York Festival Latino. A theater group in crisis is the setting for this story. Its aging actors, on stage as in life, confront their fears and failures. The story takes a new twist when a group of young actors join the group, unleashing a chain of unexpected events.
Cinema/Theater, Cuba, DramaPapers: Stories Of Undocumented Youth
There are approximately 2 million undocumented children who were born outside the U.S. and raised in this country. This documentary explores the situation of young people who were educated in American schools, hold American values, know only the U.S. as home and yet risk deportation to countries they may not even remember.
Latinos/Chicanos, Migration/Immigration, USAPasado Verde 1850-1915
The story of the Henequen plant and its practical uses, including fiber for clothing. The documentary begins with the incidental discovery of the Henequen and moves forward in time to the development of factories for mass production of fiber.
MexicoPascua Lama: A Contemporary Quest For El Dorado
This documentary provides an in-depth look at the social, economic, and environmental impact of the Pascua Lama gold mine in the Huasco Valley of northern Chile. By examining the Canadian Barrick Gold Corporation's management of the mine, this film forces us to rethink whether such operations are actually beneficial for Chile and its citizens. In addition to exploring the negative environmental impact and associated effects on local agriculture, the films uses interviews with a number of activists who argue that these mines generate very little economic benefit for the local or national economies, and instead export profits while nationalizing costs.
Chile, Economics/Development, Environment/GeographyPaulina Y El Condor/En Camino
These are two short animated films set in Bolivia, one made in Bolivia and the other in Switzerland. In "Paulina," a condor saves an Aymara girl from being obliged to become a maid in La Paz. In "En camino," a highland family moves to the big city to find a better life, but ultimately settles in the jungle, growing coca. (En camino is a silent film, with the German title Unterwags.)
Animated, Bolivia, Drama, Indigenous Peoples, SwitzerlandPedro Páramo
Based on one of the masterpieces of Spanish American literature, the novel by Juan Rulfo was adapted for the screen by Carlos Fuentes. Juan Preciado travels to the town of Comala to find his father, Pedro Páramo (John Gavin); instead he finds a phantom town where death is the reigning presence.
Classic, Drama, History, Literature, MexicoPeões
Workers from the industrial ABC region of the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo are interviewed twenty-three years after their strike led by Luis Inácio "Lula" da Silva. In 1979 Brazil lived under a dictatorship and the members of the metalworkers union were the first group of workers to organize a strike during the rule of military regime. Interviews of the workers who participated in this movement appear alongside footage of their demonstrations and narrative explaining the political and economic situation in Brazil at the time. Strike leader Lula da Silva was elected president of Brazil just as production of this film was being completed.
Brazil, History, Politics/Human RightsPeople Of The Shining Path, The
A short documentary made by British TV focusing on the Shining Path movement within the city of Lima and a few villages. There are extensive interviews with members of this guerilla movement. Knowledge of the present situation in Peru is necessary before showing this film to students.
PeruPerfume De Violetas
This film portrays the true story of Yessica and Miriam, two teens from Mexico city that start a profound friendship in middle school. The friends share notebooks, games, likes, make-up, and perfume until Jorge and El Topi, two violent accomplices, kidnap Yessica. The indifference and selfishness of the adults break the friendship of the two young girls and carry them to the brink of tragedy.
Drama, Gender/Sexuality, Mexico, Social IssuesPerla, La
Based on The Pearl by John Steinbeck, who also assisted with the cinematography, this stunning film portrays the struggles of a poor Mexican family. Set in a community in Baja, the film centers around the family's efforts to survive and save their baby by diving for pearls. A disturbing vision of poverty and racism, and a visual masterpiece, due to the direction of Emilio Fernandez and the photography of Gabriel Figueroa.
Classic, Drama, Indigenous Peoples, Literature, MexicoPeru, Country Of Diversity
This is a promotional travel documentary about Peru and its resources.
PeruPeru, New Age
This is a wonderful travelogue about Peru.
PeruPeru: Between The Hammer And The Anvil
From 1979 to the early 1990s, a guerrilla war in Peru took a huge toll on the countrys economy, and an even greater one on its poorest people. This documentary probes the economic and political roots of the conflict and examines the post?war struggles of Peruvians as they strive to reconstruct their lives. The plight of rural populations displaced by the violence—committed by both sides and presented in graphic footage—is recounted by volunteers currently working to resettle them. A Free-Will Production.
PeruPictures From A Revolution
Photographer-filmmaker Susan Meiselas returns to Nicaragua to find out what happened to the people she photographed years earlier at the height of the civil war. Meiselas and her collaborators capture the shattered lives and broken dreams of people on both sides of the conflict.
Art, Drama, Nicaragua, Social Movements/Resistance, USAPinochet’s Last Stand
The drama, based on true events, tells the fascinating story of the surprise 1998 arrest of the former Chilean dictator for crimes against humanity. Armed with diplomatic passport and apparent immunity, the retired general visited Great Britain for a vacation that was to forever change his life - and the prospects for dictators across the globe. Amnesty International spearheaded the long-awaited arrest with the help from the Spanish and British governments, but faced a pro-Pinochet publicity campaign masterminded by one of the dictator's few allies, former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. As the dissenting faction pushed for an extradition trial, 500 days passed with Pinochet under house arrest in an exclusive suburban London community.
Biography, Chile, Drama, History, Politics/Human Rights, Social IssuesPixote
Ten-year-old Pixote (Portuguese slang for Peewee) is one of three million homeless children in Brazil. Hauled off to a crowded detention center, wide-eyed Pixote witnesses rapes, beatings and other acts of random violence by both the guards and the inmates. With the tranvestite Lilica and his lover Dito, Pixote escapes from the reform school and embarks on a life of violence and crime.
BrazilPlaff
This comedic film gives us a nonconformist view about everything. The heroine (Daisy Granados, in the role of a lifetime) is constantly attacked by a mysterious hand that throws eggs at her house. Limited by her prejudices and fears and incapable of finding a way out of her internal conflicts, she comes to a tragic and unexpected end. Tabío also shows and criticizes real characters and situations of contemporary Cuban society.
CubaPOPOL VUH
History, Indigenous Peoples, Latin America, ReligionPOPULAR RELIGIOSITY
Cuba, ReligionPoto Mitan: Haitian Women, Pillars Of The Global Economy
An exploration of the effects of globalization and neo-liberal policies in Haiti as reflected in the lives and daily struggles of five Haitian women living in Port-Au-Prince. These women tell compelling stories about their experiences working in factories producing items for export for wages that are far from sufficient to meet the cost of living, highlighting the ways in which Haiti has come to serve as a reserve pool of cheap labor for the global marketplace. The film explores themes such as the contraction of the agricultural sector and increased urbanization spawned by neo-liberal policies, the lack of basic services such as healthcare and education, and the gendered dimensions of the violence spawned by widespread poverty in Port-Au-Prince.
Economics/Development, Haiti, Social Issues, Women's StudiesPower Of The Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil
With the fall of the Soviet Union in 1990 Cuba lost half of its oil imports and survived. The economy shifted from large farms or plantations and reliance on fossil-fuel-based pesticides and fertilizers, to small organic farms and urban gardens, converting Cuba from a highly industrial society to a sustainable one. This documentary shows Cubas success in this transition and is aimed at giving hope to a developed world hooked on oil and to lift American's prejudice against Cuba by showing the Cuban people as they are.
CubaPresumed Guilty / Presunto culpable
In December, 2005, Tono Zuniga was picked up off the street of Mexico City, Mexico, and sentenced to 20 years for a murder he knew nothing about. A friend of Tono's contacted two young lawyers, Robert Hernandez and Layda Negrete, who gained prominence in Mexico when they helped bring about the release of another innocent man from prison. Shot over three years with unprecedented access to the Mexican courts and prisons, this dramatic story is a searing indictment of a justice system that presumes guilt.
Docudrama, Mexico, Politics/Human Rights, Social Issues, Social Movements/Resistance, SubjectProyecto Videoastas Indigenas De La Frontera Sur
Five short documentaries created by the the Indigenous Video Makers Project of the Southern (Mexican) Border: "Te xa wuil a va (Que tengas el poder de mirarte a ti mismo)," directed by Linda Lothe, Cecilia Monroy Cuevas and Roberto Chankin Ortega (10 minutes, Spanish). "Kin santo ta sotzoleb (Dia de muertos en la tierra de los murcielagos)," directed by Pedro Daniel Lopez Lopez (33 minutes, Tzotzil). "Squinal Ixim (Fiesta del Maiz: El Tercer Encuentro del Maiz Maya-Zoque)," directed by Jose Angel Lopez Dominguez and Roberto Alejandro Corzo Leon (16 minutes, Spanish). "Mas de mil años despues...," directed by Pablo Chankin Najbor, Axel kohler and Tim Trench (19 minutes, Lacandon Maya). "La tierra es de quien la trabaja: Keremetik busca autonomia," directed by Pedro Daniel Lopez Lopez and Jose Miguel Hernandez (10 minutes, Spanish).
The objective of the project is the development of a collaborative decolonized anthropology that permits intercultural dialogue and self-representation
Pueblos Indigenas Hoy, Los / Five discs set.
Los Pueblos Indigenas Hoy is a ten part series that is an educational resource about the indigenous peoples of Mexico. Sponsored by the Mexican government, the series aired on Mexican national television in 2010 in honor of the Bicentennial celebration of Mexican independence. It features studio interviews with indigenous people, including rights advocates and leaders. Each program is 55 minutes and is presented in Spanish and using Spanish subtitles to translate interviews, with two programs on each DVD.
DISC 1
Episode 1: "Contribucion indigena en independencia y revolucion" translates to contribution of indigenous peoples to independence and revolution. The episode places emphasis on the current state of indigenous people in Mexico and what can be done to improve. Episode 2: "La lengua como construccion" translates to language as a means of construction. The episode deals with the significance of the native languages of the indigenous peoples and the importance of preserving them.
DISC 2
Episode 3: "Expresiones artisticas y artesanales" translates to artistic expressions. The episode focuses on objects crafted by the indigenous peoples of Mexico and their cultural significance as well as how the modern markets have changed how art is sold. Episode 4: "Pervivencia de una justicia propia" translates to preservation of self justice. The episode deals with the injustice faced by the indigenous peoples of Mexico due to corruption and their desire to govern themselves.
DISC 3
Episode 5: "Los Recursos Naturales y la Vida Indigena" translates to natural resources and indigenous life.The episode talks about the biodiversity in indigenous lands and and what can be done to preserve and honor it. Episode 6: "Musica y Literatura" translates to music and literature. The episode deals with the significance music and literature to the culture of indigenous peoples as well as its current state and what can be done to preserve it.
DISC 4
Episode 7: "Espirtualidad indigena y vida religiosa" translates to indigenous spirituality and religious life. The episode discusses various rituals and customs regarding religion and the effect Catholicism and tourism has had on them. Episode 8: "Salud y Medicina indigena" translates to indigenous health and medicine. The episode deals with the need for traditional medicine in indigenous communities and the clash between traditional and modern medicine.
Puño De Hierro, El
This is a silent film that focuses on opium addiction in early twentieth century Mexico. It is combined with stories of bandits and a poor detective who strives to be like the then famous Nick Carter. EL PUÑO DE HIERRO was the first movie that touched upon the issue of drug addiction in Mexico.
Mexico, Social IssuesQati Qati: Susurros de muerte
This is a fiction film based on a short-story from Bolivian Andean region. Fulo, a man from a small village in Bolivia not believe old traditions regarding the existence of souls and spirits. He has to face his wife's mysterious disappearance as a punishment for challenging these ancient beliefs. Winner of the best scenic production award at the 1999 Latin American Film and Video Festival of Indigenous Communities.
Bolivia, Drama, Indigenous Peoples, Social IssuesQuando O Crioulo Dança
This film by a young Brazilian woman deals with racism as it impacts and is expressed through the daily lives of black Brazilians. It demystifies the idea that Brazilian society is without racial prejudices. Bronze medal winner at the International Film and TV Festival of New York.
BrazilQue Viva Mexico!
Sergei Eisenstein's lost masterpiece documents the history of Mexico and its people. With sequences devoted to the Edenic land of Tehuantepec, the savage majesty of the bullfight, the struggles of the noble peon and the hypnotic imagery of the Day of the Dead "Qué viva México!" is a vivid tapestry of Mexican life. The film was shot on location in Mexico by Edouard Tisse and financed by American novelist Upton Sinclair. It was later reassembled and restored by Grigory Alexandrov.
Art, Cinema/Theater, Drama, History, MexicoQuilombo
A handsome tale of revolution and conflict, set in the mid-1600s. Disgruntled slaves in northeastern Brazil leave their plantations and form Quilombo de Palmares-their own democratic nation in the jungle. This doesn't sit well with the Portuguese landowners, who send in their troops to restore control. This historical saga is a stirring fusion of folklore, political impact, and dynamic story-telling, realized in vibrant colors and set to the pulsing beat of Gilberto Gil's musical score.
Brazil, Colonial, Drama, History, Social Movements/ResistanceQuilombo Country: Afrobrazilian Villages In The 21st Century
Quilombo Country examines the communities established by runaway slaves in 19th century Brazil as they navigate the hazards of the modern world, observing the daily activities that allow the quilombolas to survive in relative isolation. This film also offers rare footage of two ceremonies and many other celebrations.
Brazil, Social IssuesQuilombos De Bahia
Fantastic documentary about black communities in the State of Bahia. The Brazilian concept of Quilombos has come to mean the communities that were constituted out of the struggle of rebel slaves during the centuries of slavery, as territories of housing, resistance and social organization. These communities represented the enjoyment of autonomy by rebel slaves, as a reaction to white domination. Many communities now are impoverished and struggle to gain a suitable standard of living.
Brazil, HistoryRaça. Um Filme Sobre A Igualdade
Raça tackles racial inequality in Brazil, via the lives of three black Brazilians: Paulo Paim, the only black senator of the republic; Netinho Paula, singer and TV presenter, and Tiny dos Santos, Maroon activist and granddaughter of slaves. The filmmakers followed these 3 people for a number of years - people they consider are on the frontlines of the country's race debate/divide - in an effort to bring something unique to the public.
Brazil, Social Issues, Social Life and Customs, Social Movements/ResistanceRace And History In Brazil: Aleijadinho
This is a special 2-DVD Set. The first DVD is titled "Aleijadinho: Passion, Glory and Torment" and is set in 18th century Brazil - a time when slavery was still the foundation of the Latin American economy. This fascinating historical drama is loosely based on the life of Black sculptor Antonio Francisco Lisboa "Aleijadinho," one of the greatest sculptors of Latin America. The second DVD is a documentary "Denying Brazil," covering taboos, stereotypes, and struggles of Black actors in Brazilian television "soaps." Based on his own memories and on a sturdy body of research evidence, the director analyzes race relations in Brazilian soap operas, calling attention to their likely influence on Black People's identity-forming processes.
Brazil, Culture/Festivals/Food, Docudrama, History, Politics/Human Rights, Social IssuesRadio Chanul Pom, From The Heart Of The Highlands Of Chiapas
From the heart of the Altos in the Chiapaneco province of Chenalho, this community and indigenous oriented radio station broadcasts in Tzotzil and Tzeltal. The radio is an effort to strengthen their fight for justice and defend their culture and dialect. This documentary will take us on a journey through the Chiapas mountains with indigenous voices
Indigenous Peoples, MexicoRapayan
It focuses on the upheaval that the people of the isolated village of Rapayan are experiencing. Living in Peru's highlands, they are the direct descendants of a once great civilization. As we follow Canadian archaeologist Alexis Mantha and his team searching their ancestors's ruins, we discover a culture that has forgotten its past. Conflict arises. The ruins threaten to crumble and Rapayan's peace is now in jeopardy. The village is going through a turning point. The signs are there. A foreigner is unearthing mummies. Past, present and future are becoming blurred as a paved road advances towards Rapayan and modernity is catching up with it's people.
PeruRaza
A documentary exploring what Cubans think and believe about race today. The film intersperses opinions expressed by everyday citizens with interviews of prominent Cuban intellectuals and artists to explore the issue of racial discrimination and inequality, a subject that is often considered taboo and divisive.
Cuba, Social IssuesReagan And Sasser: Contra Aid
March 16, 1986. Presidential address of President Reagan concerning the controversial issue. Response to the address by Sen. Jim Sasser (D-Tennessee).
Nicaragua, USARecuerdos
A remarkably complicated documentary that took more than five years to complete, Recuerdos centers on Luis Frank, a Lithuanian immigrant who serves as an American spy in Paris during WWI and a republican militant in the Spanish Civil War before seeking exile in Mexico. Taking a detailed journey through Luis Frank's rich and varied past, the film offers a remarkably personal journey through a century marked by war, remembrance, and rebirth.
MexicoReed: Mexico Insurgente
A dramatization on John Reeds newspaper account of the Mexican Revolution. This film explores the young journalists adventures with Pancho Villas army in 1913-1914. Through encounters with Generals Villa and Urbina as well as ordinary soldiers, Reed sheds his journalistic impartiality and becomes a potent advocate of the Revolution.
Drama, MexicoRegina Vater: Six Videos On Brazil
This video contains six segments in Portuguese with no subtitles. "Turning Sadness Inside Out" (1985, 18 minutes) is about Rio's Carnival. It is basically a musical where the lyrics somehow cements the images. "From Brazil by Brazilians" (1993, 20 minutes) is an experimental video of interviews with five Brazilian intellectuals, mixed with street and country scenes. This segment also shows how Brazilians see themselves and how they feel about the European and American perception of them. "Tupi or not Tupi" (1988, 18 minutes) contains fragments of interviews with filmmaker Vera Figueredo, famous theater director José Celso Martines Correia, writer and scholar Antonio Medina, and American composer John Cage, regarding their feelings about Brazil and Brazilian culture. "Nature Still Alive" (1993, 5 minutes) is a short work about ecology and conscience, computer edited. This segment works in analogical and metaphorical discourse, and is the result of edited images of animals with Regina Vater's "Nature Mortes" (collection of photographs). "Green" (1991, 30 minutes) is a film made for a video installation in the Royal National Museum of Antwerp in 1992. This film is about the destruction of America's ecology and culture by the Europeans. At the same time, it deals with the foods America provided Europe with the discoveries. The last segment of this video (1993, unfinished) contains a fragment of an hour video recording most of Regina Vater's art works from 1979 to 1993. In this video the artist reads a statement on her ideas about art.
Art, Brazil, Culture/Festivals/Food, Environment/Geography, Social Life and CustomsReina De La Noche, La
Fictionalized biography about life of Mexican singer Lucha Reyes. Lucha Reyes was an unconventional and sexually liberated woman, most famous for her "cancion ranchera" style singing. Her story begins in 1939, when at 33 she still lived at home with her mother, then she marries the liberal Pedro Calderon and then buys a beggar's daughter, who becomes her only source of lasting love.
Biography, Mexico, Music/DanceRetorno A Aztlan / Return To Aztlan
A depiction of the Aztec myth of the creation of the Fifth Sun. It also explains why the Aztecs were cast out of their "Eden" resulting in their eventual conquest.
History, Indigenous Peoples, MexicoRetrato De Teresa
Shot in fluid vérité style, the film focuses on the stubborn survival of deeply-ingrained traditions of machismo and sexism in post-revolutionary society. Teresa is a housewife and mother whose involvement in political and cultural groups incurs the displeasure of her husband. This film is most appropriate for university students and adults, but may also be used in high school classroom settings.
Cuba, Gender/Sexuality, Social Life and CustomsRevelaciones / Revelations: Hispanic Art Of Evanescence
Directed by Edin Velez, Produced and written by Chon Noriega. A documentary about the work, cultural expressions, and recent exhibits of 8 latino artists, this film also provides a means to think U.S. latino identity and history.
Latinos/Chicanos, USARevolution Will Not Be Televised, The / La Revolución No Sera Televisada
This daring documentary about political muscle and media manipulation captures the short-lived overthrow of Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez. Two independent filmmakers were present in April 2002, when the president's powerful political enemies forcibly removed him from office, and when 48 hours later he remarkably returned to power amid cheering aides.
History, Politics/Human Rights, Social Movements/Resistance, VenezuelaRIGHT TO MOURN
Brazil, Politics/Human Rights, Social IssuesRio Escondido
The cruelty of one Mexican cacique has left his village completely without water, and the population is living in misery. The people of Rio Escondido will have to struggle for justice, and a newly arrived schoolteacher will help them find the courage to do so.
Cinema/Theater, MexicoRites Of The Day Of The Dead
Every November the Mexican people clean and decorate the graves of their loved ones, set beautiful tables or altars in which they place offerings so the visiting dead enjoy them. Experience these and other ancestral rituals of the Day of the Dead.
Anthropology/Archaeology, Art, Culture/Festivals/Food, History, MexicoRodrigo D: No Futuro
The brutal tale of a teenager making a go of it in one of the world's toughest town's: Medellin, Colombia. Rodrigo dreams of playing rock and roll. He rallies his friends into a punk band. From a web of violence, fear, aimlessness, drugs, and jail, rock and roll emerges as salvation, escape, hope --and agony. Employing a cast of young actors and real-life street toughs – some of whom meet violent ends before the film was released – Rodrigo D invites comparisons to Luis Buñuel's classic Los Olvidados.
Cinema/Theater, Colombia, Social IssuesRojo Amanecer
A film about October 2, 1968, Mexico City -the day of the massacre of students in Tlatelolco--the Plaza of the Three Cultures. The story begins with two students returning to their apartment carrying a wounded friend. From that point, evolves a plot impregnated with anguish and fear that culminates in a heart-breaking end.
MexicoRomance Da Empregada / The Story Of Fausta
Betty Faria stars as Fausta, a quirky cleaning lady whose sexy swinging hips open the door to a more comfortable life. When an old widower breaks the ice and buys Fausta perfume and a drink, she sees a way out of her dead-end marriage and the shanty town that traps her. The bawdy sitcom hilarity of Fausta and her relationships are infused with a deeper message in the film's startling conclusion.
Brazil, Comedy, Drama, Social Life and CustomsRomero
Incisive, quietly powerful drama chronicling the last three years of the life of Oscar Romero, Archbishop of San Salvador. The focus is on the way in which he became an outspoken defender of human rights and was eventually assassinated.
Drama, El Salvador, History, Social Movements/ResistanceRoots Of Migration
A journey by US citizens to Oaxaca, Mexico reveals the global forces that have pushed millions of people to migrate to the United States. Learn first-hand why people make the journey north, why they wish they didn't have to, and what effect their migration has on their communities back home. Shot entirely on location in Oaxaca, Mexico during a fact-finding trip organized by Witness for Peace co-founder, Gail Phares.
Border, Economics/Development, Latinos/Chicanos, Mexico, Migration/Immigration, USARoots Of Rhythm
This is a joyous and colorful three-part musical odyssey that follows the powerful flow of Afro-Cuban music from its origin five centuries ago in Africa and Spain to the contemporary sound of such exciting popular artists as Gloria Estefan, Ruben Blades, and jazz musician Dizzy Gillespie. Program one traces the African and Spanish roots, Program 2 traces the cultural blending in the Caribbean, and Program 3 traces its popularity in the United States and eventually through the world.
Cuba, History, Latinos/Chicanos, Music/Dance, USASaastal: The Children Of The Sacred Grace
Alicia returns to the pueblo where she spent her childhood and adolescence after an absence of 15 years. Despite the many changes that her pueblo has undergone, she finds that everyday life remains much the same as it was when she left.
MexicoSacred Games: Ritual Warfare
Every year in San Juan Chamula, Chiapas, in Southern Mexico, thousands of Maya Indians gather to celebrate Carnival, which they call "Festival of Games". This award winning film, which merges Catholicism and ancient Maya rights, beautifully captures the passion and mystery of the event and shows how Maya's symbolic world is renewed each year in the celebrations.
Anthropology/Archaeology, Indigenous Peoples, MexicoSalud
Beautifully filmed in Cuba, South Africa, Gambia, Honduras and Venezuela, Salud reveals the human dimension of the worldwide health crisis, and the central role of international cooperation in addressing glaring inequalities. The film examines the remarkable case of Cuba, a cash-strapped country with “one of the world’s best health systems,” and accompanies some of the 28,000 Cuban health professionals now serving in 68 countries.
CubaSan Patricios, Los
This documentary narrates the story of Los San Patricios, a Irish battalion in the war against Mexico in 1843 that deserted the United States army and joined the Mexican side. They are celebrated every year in Mexico, Ireland, and in the Saint Patrick's Day Parade in New York. This video explores who they were and what convinced them to change sides by tracing their story from their origins in Ireland.
History, MexicoSandra Hahn: Replies Of The Night; Slipping Between
In Replies of the Night, Sandra Hahn uses computer animation to activate a photograph of her grandfather who died a violent death during the Days of the Dead in 1946. In Slipping Between, she creates a “visual poem” by using another member of her family that died from cancer. The video projects a palette of images transmitting an array of feeling and emotion.
Latinos/Chicanos, USASantitos
Based on the novel by Esperanza’s Box of Saints by Maria Amparo Escandon. Santitos is a character-driven comedy about a young Mexican woman who has to come to terms with the loss of her teenage daughter. Esperanza's daughter Blanca suddenly and mysteriously dies in the hospital where she was having her tonsils removed. Shortly afterward, the vision of a saint appears on the greasy glass door of the oven, telling Esperanza that Blanca is not dead. Despite warnings from her best friend and the local priest, she embarks on an incredible journey across the country and over the border that helps her shed her inhibitions one by one. Out comes a different Esperanza, a liberated independent woman who is also sexually uninhibited.
MexicoSatori Uso
A poet from the shadows, a filmmaker with no films and an enigmatic muse. Inspired by the work of Brazilian writer and poet Rodrigo Garcia Lopes, it is a sort of "false documentary" about the poet’s time in the city of Londrina in the fifties as told through the eyes of American filmmaker Jim Kleist. Neither the poet nor the filmmaker actually existed – they are both fictional characters. Satori Uso, the poet, was invented in 1986, and his haikus were published in the literary section of local Brazilian newspaper Folha de Londrina.
BrazilSavage Capitalism
This blockbuster Brazilian feature uses soap-opera melodrama to tell the story of a beautiful romance between a reporter and a mining company executive. But the romance crumbles when the executive's wife, long presumed dead, returns and drives the couple, the company, and the country to the brink of a national disaster.
BrazilSaving Elian
The political, social, and international implications of the custody battle over five-year-old Elián González pitted the U.S. Department of Justice, the Miami Cuban exile community and the Cuban government in a new acrimonious struggle. Documentary footage from Miami, and some from Cuba, along with interviews and observations from participants, legal observers, and US- Cuban experts. The film explores how Elián became a metaphor over the future on both sides of the Florida strait. A PBS Frontline Documentary.
Cuba, Latinos/Chicanos, USASchool Of Assassins
Since it was established in 1946, the United States Army School has trained thousands of Latin American and Caribbean soldiers, among them the former dictators of Argentina, Bolivia, Honduras and Panama. This program shows how officers who studied at the school are responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of people.
Latin America, USASchool Of The Americas: An Insider Speaks Out
Major Joseph Blair, a former instructor at the School of the Americas, provides a fact-filled and informative portrayal of US military training and doctrine imparted to Latin American armed forces at Fort Benning, GA. Couched as a modernizing influence, the program has elicited a storm of controversy over the years because of human rights violations committed by many graduates.
USASe Permuta
A comedy about the politics of exchanging residences, which reveals the practical problems of everyday life and the conflict between traditional and revolutionary values in modern Cuba.
CubaSeams
Directed by Karim Ainouz, a young Brazilian American filmmaker, who traveled back to his home in Brazil to interview on film his five delightfully eccentric unmarried or widowed aunts on their views of love, family and marriage. These women all in their eighties or nineties seem more liberated and more at ease with certain issues than many people of today.
Brazil, Latinos/Chicanos, USASecond Voyage Of The Mimi?, What Is The
The crew of a converted French traveler studies ancient Mayan civilization and strives to acquire the science and mathematics expertise to understand it. Adventures develop observation, hypothesis formation, data collection, and analysis skills.
Mexico, USASecreto De Romelia, El
Three generations of women reflect the spiritual and social differences among traditional Mexico, the period of the Lázaro Cárdenas regime, and Mexico today. Based on Rosario Castellanos' short story El Viudo Román.
MexicoSeis Historias Brasileiras: Santa Cruz
Seis Historias Brasileiras: Santa Cruz shows the development of an evangelical church in the Santa Cruz suburb of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and the transformations that the church has made in the lives its congregation. The director wanted to show point of views that are rarely shown in the news. The film was originally released as a television series in 2000.
Brazil, Religion, Social Issues, Social Life and CustomsSelena
The story of the legendary Tejana singer, Selena, who was tragically murdered by the president of her fan club. Jennifer López and Edward James Olmos star in this movie about he talents ,triumphs,and tragedies of the Quintanilla family.
Latinos/Chicanos, USASeñorita Extraviada
This documentary investigates the kidnapping, rape and murder of over 230 young women in Juarez, Mexico. Using the testimonies of the families of the victims, the film boldly reveals a web of complicity that has contributed to the persistence of the killings. It serves as a frank portrayal of Ciudad Juarez and of the grime of the new global economy.
MexicoSentinels Of Silence
Filmed almost entirely from a helicopter, this film presents spectacular views of seven of the most important archaeological sites in Mexico: Teotihuacán, Monte Albán, Mitla, Tulum, Palenque, Chichen Itzá and Uxmal. Narrated by Orson Welles.
MexicoSerpientes Y Escaleras
This drama centers around the friendship of two young wealthy provincial girls of the 1950s to depict a tale of seduction and infidelity, intimacy and melancholy. Through the classic Mexican game of "chance and destiny," this film by the acclaimed director Busi Cortés seeks to portray women of another time.
MexicoSertao Das Memorias, O
This film tells the story of two Sertanejos, the inhabitants of Sertão. Maria is the female reincarnation of Jesus, representing the strength of the Sartanejo women. She invites the Beatas (holy women) on a mission of prayer for which they journey through the countryside, witnessing social unrest among the population. Maria meets the hero of the peasants, the strong worker Antero whose history intermingles with hers. Through mythical dreams, visions, and stories heard along their journey, we witness the unfolding of Biblical prophecy in which Old Testament texts mingle with the folktales of the Sertão
BrazilShoeshine President, The (O Presidente Engraxate)
Shot in streets of Sao Paulo, THE SHOESHINE PRESIDENT asks Brazilians what they think about their new president, Luiz Inacio "Lula" da Silva. From the heart of the celebrations, this film captures the heady atmosphere of history in the making--the most important chapter in Brazilian history for a generation.
BrazilShoveling Water
Journey to the heart of coca country where United States tax dollars have financed the aerial fumigation of 2.6 million acres of land in Colombia – the world's second most biodiverse country. See crop-duster’s target coca plants, the main ingredient of cocaine, with concentrated herbicide as part of the U.S. war on drugs. Listen to people on the ground, hear about the impacts, and learn new ideas about how to solve this deadly problem.
Colombia, Environment/Geography, Politics/Human Rights, Social Issues, Subject, USAShrine, The
Explores the traditions and mysteries that surround El Santuario de Chimayo, a small adobe folk church in northern New Mexico. Thousands of people make pilgrimages to see the church and its "holy dirt," which has origins dating back to the ancient Pueblo Indians of the region. Oral interviews and narration trace the history of the church and its connection to New Mexico's Hispanic and Indian cultural heritage.
Latinos/Chicanos, USASi Me Comprendieras
A film director embarks upon a search for black women actresses to play the central dramatic role in his next project ? a musical comedy. Rather than opt for an experienced actress, he searches for the freshness and spontaneity of inexperience. By way of interviews with candidates, and the film crew, we are drawn to the underlying conflicts inherent in Cuba today.
CubaSi Sos Brujo, Una Historia De Tango (Si Sos Brujo, A Tango Story)
With the old maestros of the tango on the verge of dying off, a young musician, Ignacio Varchausky, forms the Tango School Orchestra to ensure that the true spirit of the music is passed on to the next generation. This engaging film documents the efforts of Ignacio and Emilio Balcarce, a retired legendary violinist, bandoneonista and composer. Emilio collaborates with notable figures such as Pepe Libertella, Raúl Garello, Néstor Marconi and Ernesto Franco, amongst many more.
ArgentinaSilencio De Neto, El (The Silence Of Neto)
he first Guatemalan feature film. Neto is the eleven year old son of a Guatemalan official in the mid-fifties, during a period of turmoil when the elected government was threatened by a U.S. backed invasion. While political unrest forms a tense background, Neto - with only a child's understanding of the adult world - tries to enjoy his youth anyway. He naturally gravitiates toward his flamboyant, irresponsible uncle more than his plodding, earnest father.
GuatemalaSin Dejar Huella
Sin Dejar Huella uses drama and comedy in equal measure to tell the story of two women--one Spanish and the other Mexican--fleeing from their respective pasts. Ana, a con artist, and Aurelia, a young mother escaping from her drug-dealing husband, meet on the road by chance. Protecting one another from the dangers that pursue them, they travel from northern Mexico to Chiapas. Along the way they gradually learn the truth about one another.
Comedy, Country/Region, Drama, Mexico, Spain, Subject, TravelSin Embargo
After the revolution of 1959 and the U.S. embargo that followed, the people of Cuba were left to fend for themselves. Deprived of even the most basic goods, many scavenge alleys and scrap heaps, giving new vitality to the discarded. Their recycled products are often remarkably ingenious and creative. For Andres the sculptor, Tomas the canary breeder, and the other subjects of Sin Embargo, even the greatest pressure – whether levied by government or circumstance – cannot crush the spirit nor quash the desire to forge a better life for themselves and their families. Shot entirely in Cuba, Sin Embargo is a look into the hearts and dreams of a struggling people and a tribute to their optimistic and resourceful determination to survive.
CubaSin Nombre
Seeking the promise of America, a beautiful young woman, Sayra, joins her father on an odyssey to cross the gauntlet of the Latin America countryside. Along the way, she crosses paths with a teenaged Mexican gang member, El Casper, who is maneuvering to outrun his violent past. Together they have to rely on faith, trust and street smarts if they are to survive their increasingly perilous journey towards the hope of new lives.
Border, MexicoSituaÇÃO Das Mulheres Afrodescedentes Na AmÉRica Latina, A
"The Situation of Afro-descendant Women in Latin America" examines the correlation between race and poverty across the Americas with particular focus on the experiences of Latin American women. This UNIFEM-produced documentary features interviews with experts and activists from Brazil, Costa Rica, Panama, and Colombia, all of whom highlight discrimination against women of color throughout the region. Part of 4-DVD collection, "Coletânea Gênero, Raça e Etnia."
Costa Rica, Economics/Development, Gender/Sexuality, Social Issues, Women's StudiesSixth Sun, The
Just before dawn on New Year's Day 1994, armed Mayan Indians declared war on the government. They seized eight towns in Chiapas and set in motion events that ripped away a facade of prosperity and stability to reveal 'the other Mexico'. They demanded land, public services and Indian autonomy- the right to communally own and farm. They called themselves the Zapatista Army National Liberation (EZLN). This documentary features in-depth interviews with Subcommandante Marcos and Samuel Ruiz, Bishop of San Cristobal de las Casas, an outspoken practitioner of Liberation Theology. We meet other actors in the conflict: peasants on the estates they have occupied, angry ranchers forced from their land, church activists, conservative Catholics, government officials, and the notorious 'guardias blancas', the private army of the landowners. THE SIXTH SUN raises questions on what should be judged expendable in the era of global economic integration.
MexicoSleep Dealer
Sleep Dealer is a futuristic science fiction story set in a world not much different from our own, in which borders are closed, and a global, high speed network ties distant people and places together. The story centers on 3 characters who inhabit very different spaces in this world: a migrant, a soldier, and a writer. Sleep Dealer won the Alfred P. Sloan Prize at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival and was nominated for both the Gotham and Independent Spirit awards. Geoffrey Gilmore, the festival director, describes the movie as "a combination of The Matrix, Blade Runner, and The Border". Already a Latino Sci-Fi classic, this film has been praised by critics and audiences alike.
Border, Cinema/Theater, Drama, Latinos/Chicanos, Mexico, Migration/Immigration, USASobada
Sobada is a documentary about the techniques used by midwives in Mexico in order to help a woman during her pregnancy. The specific technique discussed in the video is called sobada which is a type of abdominal massage. This technique is used by the indigenous midwives in order to make the process of birth easier.
Country/Region, Mexico, Social Issues, Social Life and Customs, SubjectSolo Con Tu Pareja
Tomás loves women and they love him. However, Tomás has problems -he lives in the times of DC-10's, microwave ovens and AIDS, and this modern Don Juan doesn't use condoms! A wonderfully funny comedy faintly reminiscent of Almodóvar.
MexicoSomos Alzados En Bastones De Mando
In May 2006, indigenous and social organizations in Colombia were concentrated in the National Summit Traveling with sectoral actions. They demanded a national referendum against the Free Trade Agreement and the fulfillment of agreements signed with the Government for twenty years. This film tells the contempt, betrayal and brutality of the Colombian state against communities that were peacefully demanding their rights.
ColombiaSoplo De Vida (Breath Of Life)
Ex-cop turned private eye Fernando Solórzano gets roped into investigating the murder of unidentified hooker Flora Martínez at a cheap Bogotá hotel; and, as the flashbacks unreel in classic film noir fashion, he starts to piece together her life through her relationships with a failed boxer, a blind lottery salesman, a cowardly bullfighter and a corrupt politician. However, as her real identity starts to emerge, Solórzano gradually realizes that he will have to take a personal interest in the case.
ColombiaSounds Of Mexico
Music is an important expression of Mexico's cultural richness, and has always accompanied mostly all the activities of the Mexican people. Get to know through this program the most representative music, complemented with typical handicrafts and regional dresses of Mexico, in a magnificent colonial setting.
MexicoSoy Andina
The dazzling story of two women raised in different worlds — an immigrant folk dancer from the Andes, and a modern dancer from Queens, NY — who return to Peru to reconnect with their cultural heritage through an astonishing world of traditional dance and celebration. Soy Andina is an exuberant cross-cultural road trip, bursting with traditional music and dance rarely seen outside the country. But the core story is intimate and universal: a yearning for roots and connection in turbulent times. An inspirational story, Soy Andina examines the issue of identity in a globalized era.
Culture/Festivals/Food, Migration/Immigration, Music/Dance, PeruSOY CUBA (I AM CUBA)
Cinema/Theater, Cuba, HistorySpanish-American War: Archival Footage
Silent motion picture footage of the Spanish-Cuban-American War and the subsequent Philippine insurrection produced by Edison pictures between 1898 and 1901. The two conflicts were the first in which the motion picture camera played a role. Most footage is staged for the hand-cranked camera, but views of ships, parades, and notable figures is also included. Silent with English captions
Cuba, Puerto Rico, USAState Of Siege
In Uruguay in the early 1970s, an official of the US Agency for International Development (a group used as a front for training foreign police in counterinsurgency methods) is kidnapped by a group of urban guerillas. Using his interrogation as a backdrop, the film explores the often brutal consequences of the struggle between Uruguay's government and the leftist Tupamaro guerillas.
USA, UruguayStateless
In 1937, tens of thousands of Haitians and Dominicans of Haitian descent were exterminated by the Dominican army, based on anti-black hatred fomented by the Dominican government. Fast-forward to 2013, the Dominican Republic’s Supreme Court stripped the citizenship of anyone with Haitian parents, retroactive to 1929. The ruling rendered more than 200,000 people stateless, without nationality, identity or a homeland. In this dangerous climate, a young attorney named Rosa Iris mounts a grassroots campaign, challenging electoral corruption and advocating for social justice.
Dominican RepublicStepan Chemical: The Poisoning Of A Mexican Community
The moving account of the people of Matamoros, Mexico after the Chicago-based Stepan plant dumped zylene, a toxic solvent linked to birth defects, into open canals near their homes. The Sanchez family and their community, with the help of the U.S.-based Coalition for Justice in the Maquiladoras, demanded an end to the contamination and a full accounting from Stepan.
Mexico, USAStories Of My Grandparents, The
The Stories of My Grandparents is a long-term project that brings to life the Mayan legends that are such an important part of the Yucatec Maya oral tradition. The project is inspired in Ana Rosa Suarte’s first attempts to put the stories that she heard as a child in video.
BrazilStreet Art
The first and last documentary by 18-year old Ben Gutierrez is a highly informative look at graffiti that breaks the art form down into four distinct categories: "peacing," gang style, tagging, and mural art. Gutierrez was shot and killed in the winter of 1990.
Latinos/Chicanos, USASueños De Angélica, Los / Angelica’s Dreams
Filmed on location in Durham, North Carolina, Los Sueños de Angélica follows the life of a Latino couple striving to enter the mainstream of American society. Angélica and Roberto work multiple jobs and take English classes as a means of realizing their desire to move ahead financially in the United States. At the same time they are torn between their new lives and a desire to return home to the land of their birth and recreate a new life there. Unexpected changes bring these tensions to the fore and push the couple to decide between these two desires. This film provides a window into the everyday lives and consciousness of Latino immigrants while exploring the process of buying a home in the United States.
Latinos/Chicanos, Migration/Immigration, USASUEÑOS DE ROBERTO, LOS (ROBERTO’S DREAMS)
Economics/Development, Latinos/Chicanos, USASuite Habana
Dawn breaks in La Habana, and as the day advances we follow the simple lives of ten ordinary Cubans, with only sounds and images accompanied by music. The film documents a day in the life of Cubans who struggle with the harsher side of life in revolutionary Cuba. The adults do not smile or utter a single word throughout the film.
CubaSuper Amigos
In this mix of live action and comic book style animation, five masked activists fight against corruption, homophobia, animal rights, pollution and poverty in Mexico City.
Mexico, Social Issues, Social Movements/ResistanceSuper, El
A humorous and touching view of Cuban exiles living in a basement apartment during a snowy winter in New York, El Super is the story of Roberto, a superintendent who dreams of his warm and friendly homeland and stubbornly refuses to assimilate into the new culture.
Latinos/Chicanos, USA