Category: Politics/Human Rights
20th century with Mike Wallace. The US in Latin America : Yankee go home
Looks at the relationship between the US and Latin America. Turns a critical eye toward the invasions of Grenada and Panama and the occupation of Haiti. Respectively, these operations were ordered by Presidents Reagan, Bush and Clinton. Extensive footage shows American forces in action, and foreign policy experts examine the stated goals and results. Interviews Dr. Robert A. Pastor who personnally negotiated with Panamanian strongman Manuel Noriega and Haitian dictator Raoul Cedras
Economics/Development, Politics/Human Rights, 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 IssuesAbril, la trinchera del honor
First feature-length documentary directed by René Fortunato, where he examines the political crisis of the Dominican Republic in April 1965, when a military rebellion led by Colonel Francisco Alberto Caamaño Deñó deposed the civilian triumvirate in power and a subsequent intervention by the US armed forces took place.
Dominican Republic, Politics/Human Rights, USAAbsences
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 StudiesAdjusting 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 RightsAlmost 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 IssuesAlsino 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, ReligionAmericas: 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 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 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/ResistanceAntonia 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 StudiesAs 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, SpainBatalla 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, USABlood and Earth: Indigenous Resistance in the North of Cauca
This box-book-film portrays the resistance of the Nasa indigenous people of Northern Cauca in Colombia during the process of the “Liberation of Mother Earth”, a process of recovery of ancestral territories that are in the hands of sugar mills and major ethanol producers in Latin America. It also shows the struggle of the Regional Indigenous Council of Cauca, a pioneer in Latin America as an indigenous organizational process, its process of autonomy and the defense of the special indigenous jurisdiction, social and community mobilization, as well as the conservation of various manifestations of their ancestral culture. A document of memory and a reflection on state violence against the indigenous peoples of Colombia during the peace process with the FARC guerrillas, signed in 2016.
Inside there are: the 43 minute documentary in HD on usb flash drive held with an 8mm bullet and a QR link for online viewing, a book with the film script, another book about the production process of the documentary and the social life it has had, another book about the historical context of the process of “the liberation of mother earth”, 12 photographs on postcard size, an artistic poster, the posters of the film, all in English and with educational license.
The handmade box is printed on rustic fabric with coca leaf and mango monotypes and closes with a coconut fiber button. Paper ecological made of sugar cane, corn and cocoa fiber, rustic “mother jungle” fabric, Ilford photographic paper.
Colombia, Indigenous Peoples, Politics/Human Rights, Social Movements/ResistanceBlood and Wine
A shocking new thriller from the acclaimed Brazilian filmmaker based on the award winning novel Veias e Vinhos by Miguel Jorge on a horrifying story buried for over 40 years. Blood and Wine centers on Mateus, a modest business owner, his wife Antonia, their three children and Mateus' brother Pedro. After Mateus launches a restaurant in Goias in central Brazil, he and his familz find themselves persecuted by a wholly corrupt, graft-laden police force. The outcome is terrifying as almost all of Mateus family is brutally murdered. Will the sole survivor see the criminals brought to justice?
Cinema/Theater, Drama, Politics/Human RightsBoca 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, ReligionBoleto 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, SubjectBorderline 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, USABrainstorm
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 IssuesBus 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 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/ResistanceCasa 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, SubjectCaso 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 IssuesChavez, 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, VenezuelaChiapas! The Fight for Land and Liberty
Produced by John Alpert and Maryann DeLio; co-produced by the Disarm Educational Fund and the Ecumenical Program on Central America and the Caribbean. Through interviews with peasants and peasant leaders, the Catholic Church, human rights workers and victims of Army abuses, and government officials, this documentary attempts to portray the life of the indigenous in Chiapas and show why and how the revolution of the Zapatista National Liberation Front in 1994 makes sense in their lives.
Politics/Human Rights, Social Issues, Social Movements/ResistanceChile: 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/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 RightsCity 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 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 RightsComunidades 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 RightsCuba : 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, SubjectDance 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 StudiesdeMoler
Small look at the sugar workers’ feeling when they see their sugar cane mill dismantled. In Guantanamo, very close to the U.S. Naval Base, stood the Central Paraguay sugar mill. It was initially the Las Cañas sugar mill, built in 1877, and after passing through several owners, was purchased in 1909 by the Guantanamo Sugar Company. After the nationalization of foreign companies brought about by the Revolution in 1959, it became Central Paraguay. And in 2002, following the restructuring of the sugar industry, its demolition was decided upon.
The filmmaker, Alejandro Ramirez, documents the painful process of the mill's disappearance and what it means for the workers and residents of the batey (sugar mill town). The sounds of metal fragments falling to the ground, the emotional voices of many of those interviewed, and the magnificent guitar theme that accompanies the footage, transform this act of demolition into a disturbing and vibrant vision of the national sugar industry's reality.
Denying 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, SubjectDesigualdades 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 IssuesDireito 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/ResistanceEl pais de los pueblos
Brazil, Politics/Human Rights, Social Issues, UncategorizedEles 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/ResistanceElpidio 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/ResistanceEntre 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, SubjectEvita: 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 RightsFLIGHT 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, USAFor 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, 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/ResistanceGringoton (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, USAHabana 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 RightsHail 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 RightsHasta 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 RightsHistorias 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 CustomsI 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/ResistanceIn 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/ResistanceIntermezzo
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 RightsLey 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 IssuesMaestra
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/ResistanceMissing
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, USAMontaña 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, 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, USANiños 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 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
A talk by Noam Chompsky on the negative effects of U.S. policy in Latin America and the Middle East.
Country/Region, Latin America, Politics/Human Rights, Subject, USANostalgia 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, SubjectNuestra 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, 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 IssuesOtro 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/ResistancePeões
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 RightsPinochet’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 IssuesPresumed 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, SubjectPrision Insomne, La
This documentary gives the viewer the unfortunate important facets of life and the controversial work of the poet Gabriel de la Concepción Valdés, Plácido, during the first half of the turbulent and contradictory colonial nineteenth century in Cuba. The audiovisual speech reveals different nuances and mysteries about the identity of the bard and the essential features and significance of the poetry staff. The film also delves into their participation in the so-called Escalera Conspiracy against the Spanish government in power at the time.
Art, Country/Region, Cuba, Culture/Festivals/Food, Docudrama, History, Literature, Politics/Human Rights, Social Life and Customs, SubjectRace 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 IssuesRegreso de Lencho, El
LENCHO, a 30-year-old artist and graffiti writer, is back in Guatemala after living a decade in New York. Eager to bring artistic expression to his home country silenced by over 30 years of terror, Lencho assembles a collective of artists to produce public art projects of social impact. As its first activity, the group organizes an art festival in Rabinal, a small, indigenous village in the Guatemalan highlands. The group's work comes of interest to the director of a secret "social cleansing" program of the national police designed to quash dissension and organizing among the youth. As Lencho labors to coordinate the music, poetry and muralism components of the festival, he finds himself increasingly haunted by memories of the death of his father, a journalist during the civil war. "El Regreso de Lencho" portrays one man's journey to self-knowledge and action: can Guatemala do the same?
Art, Drama, Guatemala, Politics/Human RightsRevolution 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 IssuesShoveling 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, USATengo Vamos A Ver
Tengo Vamos a Ver is a short documentary and tribute to 50 years of UNEAC, with testimonies by several contributors and through poems by Nicolas Guillen. The director provides a brief tour of the development of UNEAC on the island of Cuba, and its achievements and contribution to Cuban culture policy.
Country/Region, Cuba, Culture/Festivals/Food, Politics/Human Rights, SubjectThe Sugar Curtain /El Telon De Azucar
In the 70's and 80's , Cuba had overcome the crises of the first decade of the revolution and had settled into realizing a new identity, creating the new man Che had envisioned.Despite the lask of many material comforts, the idealism if the people kept afloat their proud , shared conviction that a new type of society was possible.People were not obsessed with consumption and gain and the basic necessities were provided, along with free education and health care. Here is an intimate portrait of those who lived Cuba's utopian dream during the golden era of the revolution.It is alos a lament for the end of that dream, which began to fizzle after the fall of the Berlin Wall and has since continued on a downward spiral. Through interviews we learn of the disillusionment of the Cuban people suffere- and continue to suffer - seeing the beloved island of their youth turn into a nightmare
Cuba, History, Politics/Human Rights, Social IssuesThe Year My Parents Went On Vacation / O Ano em Que Meus Pais Saíram de Férias
The year is 1970, and Mauro (Michel Joelsas) is taken to live with his grandfather while his mother and father flee the politically repressive Brazilian regime. As the nation prepares to watch their team compete in the soccer World Cup, Mauro anticipates the return of his parents. When his grandfather dies suddenly, he is set adrift and befriends the characters who live in the surrounding Jewish neighborhood, all the while anxiously awaiting news of his parents' fate.
Brazil, Drama, Migration/Immigration, Politics/Human Rights, Social Issues, Social Movements/ResistanceTlateloco: Los Claves De La Masacre
This documentary represents the culmination of four years of investigation into the military operations behind the October 1968 massacre of students at the Plaza de las Tres Culturas in Tlateloco, Mexico. It incorporates all known film footage related to the events of October 2, 1968 and presents evidence that documents the steps taken by the government and other repressive forces against the student movement.
Mexico, Politics/Human Rights, Social Movements/ResistanceUma Mãe Como Eu
This film records the testimonies of mothers in Brazil whose sons have been the victims of police brutality and who have united to fight this systemic problem in their nation.
Brazil, Gender/Sexuality, Politics/Human Rights, Social Issues, Social Movements/Resistance, Women's StudiesVenezuela: Revolution From The Inside Out
This documentary seeks to get beyond the cult of personality of Hugo Chavez to gain a deeper understanding of what the Bolivarian Revolution in Venezuela has meant for many citizens at the local level. Through interviews with government officials, community memebers and scholars such as former Duke Mellon visiting professor Steve Ellner, the film examines political developments of the last twenty years from the perspective of popular participation. Beginning with a brief discussion of the Caracazo of 1988, the documentary looks at the role that grassroots mobilization in the form of cooperatives and other locally-based organizations in efforts to reshape Venezuelan economy and society.
Economics/Development, Politics/Human Rights, Social Issues, Social Movements/Resistance, VenezuelaWar of the CIA in Cuba
This documentary denounces the CIA's involvement in internal Cuban affairs and its active aggression against the Cuban government. This film offers a straightforward presentation of facts, and contains footage of actual espionage activities as well as a reading of names of CIA agents known to be active in Cuba. Produced by Cuban television.
Cuba, Politics/Human Rights, Social IssuesWar Takes / Tomas De Guerra
For over four years, three Colombian filmmakers turned their cameras on themselves, using personal stories to expose the tough reality in their violent, war-ravaged country. Their portrayal does not aim to confirm the image the outside world has of Colombia as a hotbed of excessive political violence and drug traffic, but instead draws out the beauty and warmth of the people amidst the larger turmoil within their homeland.
Colombia, Politics/Human Rights, Social Life and CustomsWarrior Of Light
Documentary about artist Yvonne Bezzerra de Mello, a human rights activist and her work with homeless boys in Rio de Janeiro.
Biography, Brazil, Docudrama, Politics/Human Rights, Social IssuesWaste Land
Filmed over nearly three years, WASTE LAND follows renowned artist Vik Muniz as he journeys from his home base in Brooklyn to his native Brazil and the world's largest garbage dump, Jardim Gramacho, located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro. Mixes art with social projects. Addresses issues such as classism.
Art, Brazil, Environment/Geography, Politics/Human Rights, Social IssuesWe Don’t Play Golf Here
Mexico serves as a Third World example of how “free market” economics distorts culture and environment. The construction of a golf course is more than the military trying to replace the democratic sport, soccer, with golf. It is how the golf course is going to affect the people in the surrounding area. Fertilizers and pesticides will pollute the nearby waters, Constructing the golf course would require the government to cut down trees, creating an environmental issue. People who believe in taking care of the natural forests around them were being punished by the military for not agreeing with their course of action. Without an individual voice the people of Mexico came together and had strikes against the golf company, the metal company dumping materials, in order to move toward a more democratic country. Despite globalizing efforts of the government, the people of Tepozitlan will always fight for what they believe in.
Culture/Festivals/Food, Economics/Development, Environment/Geography, Mexico, Politics/Human Rights, Social IssuesWhen The Drum Is Beating
This documentary explores the music of the famous Haitian orchestra “Septentrional” along with the violent history of Haiti. Through Septentrional’s powerful musical pieces, accompanied with brutal scenes, viewers are taken on a graphic journey through Haiti’s culture and history; from French colonialism and bloody revolutions to natural disasters and foreign debt while Septentrional’s beautiful sounds of Haitian voodoo beats and Cuban big band serve as a backdrop. This film contains graphic images.
Colonial, Haiti, History, Music/Dance, Politics/Human Rights, Religion, Social Issues, Social Life and Customs, Social Movements/Resistance, USA