A Place Called Chiapas
Digging past the history of division to look at the human beings involved in the conflict, A Place Called Chiapas documents the 1994 uprising of the Zapatista National Liberation Army in Mexico and its aftermath.  The movie shows the complexities that led up to the violent confrontation, as Mexican politicians accelerated economic transformations while the indigenous people of the south fought to claim the land of their heritage as their own Filmmaker Nettie Wild captured some remarkable footage of the rebel forces and shaped it into a vivid portrait of a dramatic, post NAFTA standoff.  “Full of beauty, surprise, irony, sorrow and excruciating tension” (Stuart Klawans, The Nation)  In Spanish with English narration and subtitles.  1998.  92 minutes 

Amazon:  The Invisible People
The Amazon is the last place on earth where people live who have never been contracted by the modern world.  In Ecuador, deep inside the rainforest, the Tageari tribe is next in the firing line, and when contact occurs, their health, their faith, their environment, their relationships and all the things that define their culture are changed forever.  60 minutes

Approach of Dawn
A personal view of the human rights struggle in Guatemala, this documentary shares the story of three women whose lives were shattered by genocidal war--the longest civil war in Latin America.  A deeply moving look at the severe cost of violent conflict.  1998. 52 minutes

Central America Close-Up
The lives of two Central American youths are profiled in this educational video.  First we visit with a 14-year-old Mayan girl from an isolated mountain farming village in Guatemala, where age-old traditions are essential to everyday life.  Then, we travel to El Salvador, where a 15-year-old boy and his family return to the home they left during the civil war of the 1980s. 1998. 28 minutes

Colors of Hope
Narrated by Meryl Streep, Colors of Hope Tells the story of an Argentine family’s incredible ability to maintain hope and closeness in spite of the torture and torment which accompanied their years as political prisoners; the moving, true account of hope and perseverance behind such fictionalized account as The Official Story .  Produced by Amnesty International. 1985. 20 minutes

Cuban Women: Branded by Paradise
The first documentary to deal exclusively with the effect the Cuban revolution has had on women, Branded by Paradise explores the lives of dissident Cuban women in exile.  The film interweaves interviews with women from many different social backgrounds who have left the island, each with her own story of the hardships (in some cases including imprisonment, torture and execution) that her family has endured in her absence.  Fidel Castro’s daughter Alina, acclaimed novelist Zoe Valdes and Madrid-based poet Marie Elena Cruz Varela are just some of the women profiled.  In Spanish with English subtitles.  1999. 80 minutes

Did They Buy It?: Nicaragua’s 1990 Elections
“A fascinating 45 minute video documentary by Chicagoan Bob Hercules, filmed on location with a crew of four that concentrates largely on the U.S. media coverage of the Nicaraguan elections.  What emerges is not only a sharp piece of alternative news coverage that helps to explain the outcome, but also a revealing and multifaceted (and alternately funny and chilling) look at how the U.S. news about Nicaragua actually gets ‘created’” (Jonathan Rosenbaum). 1991. 45 minutes

El Che:  Investigating a Legend
This program examines Che Guevara, the revolutionary who became a symbol of an entire generation.  It covers his voyages of discovery through Latin America, his meeting with Castro, his travels around the world as Cuba’s ambassador, his days as a victorious leader in guerilla warfare, his various disguises, his disastrous episode in the Congo, and his tragic end in Bolivia at age 39.  90 minutes

Evita:  The Woman Behind the Myth
In this A & E Biography, rare photographs and films and accounts from close aides and bitter enemies offer insight into the life of Eva Duarte de Peron, a woman whose political power and prestige nearly eclipsed that of her husband, Argentine president Juan Peron.  50 minutes

Fiesta
Fiestas are the central expression of honor and tradition in most Mexican small towns.  They’re designed to celebrate the patron saints through an ethnographic tradition of dance, markets, music and the charreds (like rodeos).  This film shares how people behave in their time of joy and spontaneity.  22 minutes

Market Day in a Changing Economy (Latin American Lifestyles)
The traditional market and the role of women in Latin America are explored as the economy of the region develops and expands.  Bilingual English-Spanish narration. 

Mexico City--Metropolis in the Mountains
This program studies the consequences of the shifting population rates in Mexico City, where a projected 25 million people will live by the year 2000.  It examines the cultural diversity of urban life, emphasizing the city’s architectural splendor and grace.  28 minutes.

Mexico Close-Up
Cludad Juarez, Chihuahua:  A 15-year-old and his two younger sisters juggle homework, housework and supper while their parents labor in faraway assembly plants.  Acteal, Chiapas.  A 13-year-old girl and others in her village struggle to rebuild their lives in the aftermath of an infamous massacre that occurred a few years earlier.  2000.  28 minutes

Picture from a Revolution
A revealing personal document about photojournalist Susan Meiselas, who returned to Nicaragua in 1989, ten years after her groundbreaking photographs on the revolution, to question her subjects and assess the political and social transformation.  The film studies the aftermath of events and history, a collision of memory, photography and truth.  “Susan meiselas recalls acts of terrorism and moments of terrible fright” (Vincent Canby).  1991. 92 minutes

School of Assassins
U.S. taxpayers fund some of the worst human rights violators in this hemisphere.  Former dictators from throughout South America received their training at the U.S. Army School of the Americas.  This documentary reveals the connection between this school and the human rights offenses committed by its graduates in El Salvador.  18 minutes

The Dark Light of Dawn
Commissioned by the Guatemala Human Rights Commission/U.S.A., this documentary presents a factual overview and moving visual portrait of the recent years of conflict in Guatemala.  It traces the manipulation of political power in the country and shows that after the return of civilian rule, military repression has not abated.  Human rights violations, especially against the Indian population, are poignantly depicted--and efforts of families to find their “disappeared” relatives are documented.  1987.  28 minutes

The Ties That Bind:  Stories Behind the Immigration Controversy
A three-part program that focuses on the human drama behind U.S. immigration policies, especially as they relate to the U.S. and Mexico.  This presentation examines how economic policies and the power of transnational corporations contribute to social and economic disparity between the two neighbors while also exploring the common bonds of values, faith, family and work.  1996. 56 minutes

The Tree of Knowledge
Set in Huehuetla, in Eastern Mexico, the film contrasts the Mexican national school system’s campaign to integrate Indian pupils, with the Indian Huehues dance, which shows young Indians how to learn from whites yet not lose their identity.  1988.  25 minutes

Waiting for Fidel
In 1974, a group of extraordinary men take an extraordinary trip to Cuba.  They include Joey Smallwoood, the former socialist premier of Newfoundland; Geoff Stirling, the Newfoundland born broadcasting magnate; and Michael Rubbo, the award-winning Australian-Canadian filmmaker.  The men wind up in a strange limbo, waiting days on end to meet with Fidel Castro.  Their wait itself becomes the subject of the film, as the men embark on a wide-ranging, often humorous, and powerfully compelling dialogue on Cuba, Canada, Socialism, capitalism, and many other issues.  Brilliantly executed, and punctuated with wonderful Cuban music.  Waiting for Fidel is a documentary classic.  English and Spanish with English subtitles.  1974. 58 minutes

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