2007 Film Synopses
Approach of Dawn (1998)
Director: Gayla Jamison
Origin: Guatemala
Run time: 52 minutes
Synopsis: The Mayan women of Guatemala and their role in the human rights struggle, as told through the stories of three women whose lives have been shattered by the genocidal war.
Maquilopolis [City of Factories] (2006)
Director: Vicky Funari, Sergio de la Torre
Origin: Mexico
Genre: Documentary
Run time: 60 Minutes
Synopsis: Just over the border in Mexico is an area peppered with maquiladoras: massive sweatshops often owned by the world's largest multinational corporations. Carmen and Lourdes work at maquiladoras in Tijuana, and it is there that they try to balance the struggle for survival with their own radicalization in this documentary.
Nicotina (2003)
Director: Hugo Rodriguez
Origin: Mexico
Genre: Action/ Comedy / Drama
Run time: 93 Minutes
Synopsis: Imagine the smoke-filled chatathon Coffee and Cigarettes as directed by Guy Ritchie instead of Jim Jarmusch and you’ll have an idea of what Nicotina is like. Three smokers are paired with three non-smokers, and everyone spends a lot of time smoking, trying not to smoke, or talking about smoking. There is a plot, though, a complicated one involving a lovelorn computer hacker and voyeur (Mexican cutie Diego Luna, of Y tu mamá también fame), a cache of diamonds, Russian mobsters, some mixed-up computer discs, and a lot of Tarantino-esque hoodlum philosophizing about fate, chance, and of course, cigarettes. Director Hugo Rodriguez keeps things moving at a nicotine-fit clip (the picture takes place in real time), and there’s plenty to laugh at and a dazzling style to admire, if not much substance, before the bodies inevitably begin to pile up. See, smoking is bad for your health. By Gary Susman.
Cautiva (2003)
Director:Gaston Biraben
Origin: Argentina
Genre: Drama
Run time: 115 Minutes
Synopsis: Imagine going to school one day to be told that you can never return to the only parents you've ever known. A judge informs a young Argentinian that her real mother was one of the "disappeared" 14 years previously, and she must immediately go to live with her real grandmother. The teenager finds herself living in a nightmare, even though her "new" family is understanding and compassionate towards her. She must learn to negotiate not only a new identity but must relearn her personal history and the recent history of her country. The story unfolds in layers of bad dreams and harsh reality. Did her adoptive parents save her or did they kidnap her? In CAUTIVA we are treated to a spellbinding story and a stunning portrayal by a young newcomer to the screen. By Alanna Grannel.
Carandiru (2003)
Director: Hector Babenco
Origin: Brazil / Argentina
Genre: Drama / Crime
Run time: 148 Minutes
Synopsis: Film based on real life experiences of doctor Drauzio Varella inside dreadful State penitentiary Carandiru, in São Paulo, Brazil, while he was doing a social work of Aids prevention. There he found hundreds of convicts living under degrading conditions. The situation came to a climax in 1992, when in order to smother a rebellion, police force killed 111 men. Written by lukejoplin@infolink.com.br.
Favela Rising (2005)
Director: Matt Mochary, Jeff Zimbalist
Origin: Brazil / USA
Genre: Documentary
Run time: 80 Minutes
Synopsis: 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 of his 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 violent oppression enforced by teenage drug armies and sustained by corrupt police.
At the dawn of liberation, just as collective mobility is overcoming all odds and Anderson’s grassroots Afro Reggae movement is at the height of its success, a tragic accident threatens to silence the movement forever. From http://favelarising.com.
La Ciudad [The City] (1999)
Director: David Riker
Origin: USA
Genre: Drama
Run time: 88 Minutes
Synopsis: In stunningly gritty black and white, La Ciudad weaves a rich tapestry of present day immigrant life in New York's Latino community. The film is comprised of four unforgettable stories: a group of day-laborers scavenge for bricks; two teenagers meet at a party in the projects; a homeless father tries to enroll his daughter in school; and a garment worker seeks justice in the sweatshops. http://www.pbs.org/itvs/thecity/
Rosita (2005)
Genre: Documentary
Origin: Costa Rica, Nicaragua, USA, Nicaragua
Genre: Documentary
Runtime: 55 Minutes
Synopsis: Rosita, a documentary by award-winning filmmakers Barbara Attie and Janet Goldwater, traces a young girl's journey from innocent victim to unwitting victor. When a nine-year-old Nicaraguan girl becomes pregnant as a result of a rape, her parents - illiterate campesinos working in Costa Rica - seek a legal "therapeutic" abortion to save their only child's life. Their question pits them against the governments of Nicaragua and Costa Rica, the medical establishment, and the Catholic Church. When their story gains international media attention the repercussions ripple across Latin America and Europe.
Strawberry and Chocolate [Fresa y Chocolate] (1994)
Director: Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, Juan Carlos Tabío
Origin: Cuba / Mexico / Spain
Genre: Drama / Comedy
Runtime: 108 Minutes
Distributor: Walt Disney Video
Synopsis: Diego, a cultivated, homosexual and skeptical young man, falls in love with a young heterosexual communist full of prejudices and doctrinary ideas. First come rejection and suspicion, but also fascination. Fresa y chocolate is the story of a great friendship, that is, a great love between two men, which overcomes incomprehension and intolerance.
STUDENT FILMS
Jerry
Director: Bryan Ott
Run Time: 5 Minutes 1 Sec.
Synopsis: Jerry takes us through a day in his life, as he crosses the border to make sushi in San Diego.
Stories from Santo Ângelo (Histórias de Santo Ângelo)
Directors: Myra Margolin, Tatiane Vieira, Patricia Ferreira Barbosa, Fernanda Guimaraes Ferreira, and Maiquel da Silva
Run Time: 42 Minutes(The film consists of four short documentaries)
Synopsis: Stories from Santo Ângelo is the result of a participatory video workshop held in Centro Sul, a working class neighborhood in Santo Ângelo in southern Brazil. The workshop, part of a larger community development project, gave teenagers an opportunity to make short, personal documentaries about their lives. Eight teens participated and four wrote and co-directed films (with the workshop facilitator, a professional filmmaker). The films' themes range from community stories about the neighborhood and the regional "gaucho" (cowboy) culture to very personal stories about the struggles of coming of age in a society that offers very limited opportunities for poor and working class youth. Together, the four films present a picture of teenage life in a close-knit, southern Brazilian neighborhood.
2006 FILM SYNOPSES