Las Américas Film Network

FILMS

All films are subtitled in english and are available on DVD. To order, you may mail or fax a Purchase Order or use our online shopping cart at the bottom of each film page. Each purchase includes public performance rights.

	90 Miles Juan Carlos Zaldiva Cuba, 2003, 53 minutes A Cuban-born filmmaker recounts the strange fate that brought him as groomed young communist to exile in Miami in 1980 during the dramatic Mariel boatlift. 90 Miles is the candid and moving story of an immigrant family, and how the historical forces around them have shaped their personal relationship and their attitudes towards the world around them.
	Aires y Aguafiestas en el Estado de Morelos (Water Willies in the Global Village) Greg Berger Mexico, 2000, 28 minutes Welcome to Tejalpa, Mexico in the year 2000. It's one weird and dislocated place! This ancient Indian town has kept many of its traditions alive, including the fiesta celebrated each year on October 18th. On this day the very best of the year's agricultural harvest is offered to the spirits of the town's main spring and aquifier.
	And the March Continues! Guadalupe Olvera San Miguel Mexcio, 1997, 30 minutes And the March Continues! combines documentary and narrative forms to present a history of the lesbian movement in Mexico from its origins to the present. A dramatized encounter between Frida Kahlo, Sor Juana Ines de la Cruz (acclaimed 17th Century Mexican poet) and modern day Mexican revolutionary, Adelita, is a humorous but poignant acknowledgement of the historical and cultural impact made by these and other Mexican lesbians.
	Antes que todo (Before All That) Maria Paz González Chile, 2005, 51 minutes Caesar and Jonathan are two young kids, which found music by separate ways and decide to hold onto it with all their strength. But things will not be easy for them. Beyond their musical talent, they must fight against many obstacles: the educational system, the distances of a great city and the refusal of their own family. "Before All That " shows what happens in a country where the culture and the musical education simply don't fit in a society full of prejudices.
	Apaga y vamonos (Switch Off) Manel Mayol Chile, 2005, 87 minutes Shot in 16 mm, final version 35mm with Dolby Sound Apaga y vamonos is a tale about a usurped nation, about a forgotten genocide, about globalization, about one river. In 1997 the Spanish hydro-electric company ENDESA decided to build a dam in the Biobío River to form the Ralco hydroelectric power station. From the beginning...
	Beyond the Border (Más allá de la frontera) Eren Isabel McGinnis and Ari Luis Palos U.S and Mexico, 2001, 55 minutes Over the past decade, thousands of Latinos seeking a better life have migrated to Kentucky, finding low-paying jobs in the tobacco, manufacturing and horseracing industries. However, as these Latino communities have swelled, so too has the xenophobia and discrimination they face. Beyond the Border traces the painful transition made by four sons in a Mexican family as they leave behind their parents..
	A Defender of His People Bruce "Pacho" Lane Mexico, 57 minutes The Nahua indigenous community of Tepoztlán, in the valley of Morelos just south of Mexico City. Most recently it has become the New Age capital of Mexico, and a popular stopover on the backpacker trail. Amazingly, in spite of all these pressures, Tepoztlán has managed to maintain its own special identity. A Defender of His People examines how the legend of El Tepozteco serves as a source of identity and a behavior model for the residents of Tepoztlan. El Tepozteco is not just a legendary figure: he is actively present in the lives of his people. His voice is heard in the wind, and when necessary he appears in person.
	De niña a madre, Episodios 1 & 2 (Girls to Mothers, Chapters 1 &2) - MULTI-AWARD WINNER Florence Jaugey Nicaragua, 2006, 70 minutes Three adolescents Three mothers Three years of their lives …. This documentary narrates the lives of three adolescents: 14-year-old Kenia, from a poor neighborhood in Managua; 15-year-old Blanca, who lives deep in the mountains; and Viviana, a 16-year-old Miskito indigenous girl from the North Atlantic region.
	De Nadie Tin Dirdamal Mexico, 2005, 80 minutes The impoverished Central Americans who leave their countries in hopes of a better life in the United States have a rough road ahead of them. De Nadie shows how, during their perilous 2500-mile journey through Mexico, they put their money, dignity, health and life on the line. Audience Award, Sundance 2006 .
	Estadio Nacional (National Stadium) Carmen Luz Parot Chile, 2002, 60 minutes After a military coup overthrew the democratically elected Socialist government of Chile on September 11, 1973, the capital’s National Stadium was the scene of the indiscriminate mass detentions of more than 12,000 suspected dissidents, and the brutal interrogations, torture, and executions they underwent . This film is the first in...
	Favela Rising Matt Mochary and Jeff Zimbalist Brazil, 2005, 84 minutes 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 turned 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.
	Gay Cuba (Director's Cut) Sonja de Vries USA/Cuba, 1995, 57 minutes The 1959 revolution which gave Cuba its independence ushered in a new era of equality, blind to race and to gender -- but not to sexual orientation. Military necessity and contemporary Stalinist ideology served only to reinforce long-held stereotypes detrimental to the integration of homosexuals into Cuba’s perpetually reforming social structure.Gay Cuba documents the promising changes which are beginning to take hold.
	Gitanos sin carpa (Gypsies Without Tents) Iván Tziboulka Chile, 2002, 62 mins Gitanos sin carpa 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.
	Granito de arena (Grain of Sand) Jill Freidberg Mexico, 2005, 60 mins For over 20 years, global economic forces have been dismantling public education in Mexico, but always in the constant shadow of popular resistance...Granito de Arena is the story of that resistance – the story of hundreds of thousands of public schoolteachers whose grassroots, non violent movement took Mexico by surprise, and who have endured brutal repression in their 25-year strugglefor social and economic justice in Mexico's public schools.
	Gringotón (Gringo-thon) Greg Berger Mexico, 2004, 17 mins In this brilliant and hilarious parody, filmmaker Greg Berger takes on the theme of Mexican perspectives of the United States, its citizens, and its imperial project by turning them on their ear.
	Hartos Evos aquí hay Hector Ulloque Franco & Manuel Ruiz Montealegre Bolivia, 2006, 51 minutes On December 18, 2005, an indigenous person was elected president of Bolivia for the first time in history. Evo Morales Ayma was supported by 36 native groups, social movements, academic and intellectual circles and a massive popular backing which allowed him to obtain 53.7% of the votes. The coca growers from the Tropic of Cochabamba, better known as Chapare, played a leading role in this process.
	"I" the film Raphael Lyon and Andres Ingoglia Argentina, todo mundo, 2005, 94 mins “i” is a meditation on the relationship between media and power as it is manifested by the worlds largest all volunteer network of media activists — Indymedia. The feature-length documentary follows the first year of a small collective in Buenos Aires as it struggles amidst assassinations, a collapsing economy, and a whirlwind of political upheaval.
	El Inmigrante John Sheedy, David Eckenrode & John Eckenrode USA/Mexico, 2005, 90 minutes El Inmigrante is a documentary film that examines the Mexican and American border crisis by telling the story of Eusebio de Haro a young Mexican migrant who was shot and killed during one of his journeys north. The film presents a distinct humanitarian focus in which story and character take precedent over policy and empiricism. Cast includes the de Haro family, the community of Brackettville, Texas–where Eusebio was shot, members of vigilante border militias in Arizona, the horseback border patrol in El Paso, and migrants en route to an uncertain future in the United States.
	La isla de niños perdidos (Island of Lost Children) - MULTI-AWARD WINNER Florence Jaugey Nicaragua, 2002, 80 minutes The Island of Lost Children is the story of ten young inmates who participate in a video course inside the largest prison in Nicaragua. It is a trip to the depths of captivity. It is also the portrait of these “bad boys,” who took the wrong road because it was the only one open to them.
	Judíos en Chile, emigrantes en el tiempo(Jews in Chile: Immigrants Through Time) Cristian Leighton Chile , 2002, 52 mins This documentary provides a window into Chile’s Jewish community of some 20,000 by presenting in detail the lives and stories of three of its members. Presented in their everyday routines of work, family, friendship, and worship, the speakers express their attitudes toward religion and work, and reflect on their own stereotypes and the ones they are subjected to.
	La Rebelion de los Machetes (Atenco: The Machete Rebellion) Adan Xicohtencatl (co-director), Constantino Miranda (co-director), Greg Berger (producer/editor) Mexico, 2002, 30 mins Details the evolution of the town's struggle into a national, and eventually international movement.
	Muxes – Authentic, Intrepid Seekers of Danger Alejandra Islas Mexico, 2005, 105 minutes Among the Zapotec Indians of Oaxaca, Mexico, boy babies who are born in a certain position, or little boys who prefer to play with girls, are raised as women, and are known as Muxes. The Muxes of Juchitán are proud of their identity, enjoy their lives, laugh at themselves as well as at "straight" society, and admit their own foibles freely. They call themselves "Authentic, Intrepid Seekers of Danger".
	Nema problema Susana Foxley and Cristián Leighton Chile, 2001, 62 mins In January of 1999, the Chilean government granted asylum to 26 Yugoslavian refugees from the disastrous Balkan war. After 9 years of suffering in their war-torn homeland, the refugees are greeted in Chile with open arms, media coverage, and free housing in a hostel in Santiago.
	*Not Because Fidel Says So* Graciela Sanchez Cuba, 1988, 10 minutes One of the first documentaries of its kind. Not Because Fidel Castro Says So is candid look at the situation for Cuban sexual minorities. It examines the relationship of gays to the Cuban revolution and the Spanish Catholic Church as the root of current homophobic attitudes.
	Pachaiki: In your place (Pachaiki, en tu lugar) Cristián Leighton Chile, 2004, 56 mins Rarely do rural and urban teenagers have a chance to cross the divide to form friendships. When Christopher’s eighth-grade class learns about Chile’s ethnic diversity, he forms an email penpal relationship with a teenager of Quechuan descent who lives in the desert.
	Patio 29, Historias de Silencio (Patio 29, Histories of Silence) Esteban Larraín Chile, 1998, 85 minutes In the weeks that followed the September 11, 1973 coup, the military government began a massive operation to exterminate dissidents. Community leaders, leftist activists, and even people with no political affiliations were arrested, tortured, and executed. During the spring nights of 1973, military trucks drove through Santiago picking up hundreds of dead bodies; many of them were buried in unmarked graves in a desolate area known as Patio 29 in Santiago's General Cemetery. This film documents those horrific events.
	La Tropical David Turnley Cuba, 2002 (released 2006), 93 minutes Pultizer Prize-winner David Turnley makes his directorial debut with an inside look at the famous Havana nightclub, Salón Rosado de la Tropical, that is so much more than a music and dance documentary. Through his black and white lens, effervescent images come to life in this pulsating commentary on Cuban race, gender, and love.
	Quilombo Country Leonard Abrams Brazil, 2005, 73 minutes Quilombo Country, a documentary film shot in digital video, provides a portrait of rural communities in Brazil that were either founded by runaway slaves or began from abandoned plantations. This type of community is known as a quilombo, from an Angolan word that means "encampment." As many as 2,000 quilombos exist today
	Ralco Esteban Larraín Chile, 2000 In the mountain ranges of southern of Chile, kilometers from the Argentine border, lives the indigenous community Ralco Lepoy. Since 1994, Endesa, the largest electric company in Latin America, has been constructing an hydroelectric mega-center located in this zone. This award winning documentary follows women from the Pehuenches that fight for their land against seemingly impossible odds.
	*Se Lucen (They Shine: On Being Gay in Morleos)* Greg Berger Mexico, 2002, 13 mins To be poor in Mexico is hard. To be poor in a small town in Mexico is harder. If you're a gay man living in those circumstances, things can get downright tricky. This collectively-produced documentary introduces us to four gay men in Mazatepec, Morelos, who recount their life passions and their everyday complaints.
	Seres extravagantes (Odd People Out) Manuel Zayas Cuba, 2006, 54 minutes Seres extravagantesis a documentary about the process of marginalization, repression and denial of the gay community during the first two decades of the Cuban Revolution, through the eyes and voice of Cuban writer Reinaldo Arenas.
	Skirt Full of Butterflies Maureen Gosling Mexico, 1993, 15 minutes Matriarchy. That is what explorers and other outsiders have simplistically labeled the Zapotecs of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in southern Oaxaca, Mexico. The Isthmus is a place where women run the economy, where cultural identity is of utmost importance, where being fat is regarded as an ideal of beauty and where female ancestors displayed ingenuity and spunk in times of war and political resistance.
	¡Tierra Si, Aviones No! (Land Yes, Airplanes No!) Adan Xicohtencatl (co-director), Constantino Miranda (co-director), Greg Berger (producer/editor) Mexico 2002, 26 mins The Mexican government has unveiled an ambitious plan to build a huge, state-of-the-art new airport outside of Mexico City. Seen as a way to encourage international investment, the plan will also destroy enormous tracts of communal farmland in the areas where...
	Tlalnepantla: The Price of Democracy Greg Berger Mexico, 2004 In January of 2004, the Zapatistas of Chiapas celebrated the 10th anniversary of their uprising. However, a thousand miles away in Emiliano Zapata's home state of Morelos, a darker chapter in the indigenous democracy movement was unfolding...
	The Tree of Life Bruce "Pacho" Lane Mexico, 29 minutes "Los Voladores" (the Flyers) is a 1500 year-old rite sacred to Quetzalcoatl, the Morning Star. From its origins on the Gulf coast of Mexico, the ritual spread throughout Mesoamerica: a special square was reserved for it in Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital, and a variant is still known among the Quiche' Maya in Guatemala. Today "Los Voladores" is best known in its original home in the Huasteca region, especially among the Totonac, who have lived in the area for millenia. The version shown in the film is from Huehuetla, in the Sierra Norte de Puebla. Also includes The Tree of Knowledge and Democracia Indigena.
	Tocar y luchar (To Play and To Fight) Alberto Arvelo Venezuela, 2006, 90 minutes To Play and To Fight presents the captivating story of the Venezuelan Youth Orchestra System - an incredible network of hundreds of orchestras formed within most of Venezuela’s towns and villages. The documentary portrays the inspirational stories of world class musicians trained by the Venezuelan system. With interviews with many of the world’s most celebrated musicians including the great tenor Placido Domingo, Claudio Abbado, Sir Simon Rattle, Guiseppe Sinopoli, and Eduardo Mata, To Play and To Fight is an inspirational story of courage, determination, ambition, and love showing us that… only those who dream can achieve the impossible.
	Víctor Jara, el Derecho de vivir en paz (Victor Jara, The Right to Live in Peace) Carmen Luz Parot Chile, 1999, 60 minutes Filmed for the 25th anniversary of his death, this biography recounts the extraordinary life of famed Chilean singer-songwriter, theater director, folklorist, and political activist Victor Jara.
	El Velo de Berta (The Veil of Berta) Estebán Larrain Chile, 2004, 73 minutes "The Veil of Berta" is the delicate narration of the story of Berta Quintremán, an elderly indigenous woman who at the age of 88 leads the last group opposing the construction of the Ralco project, a gigantic dam that will stop the flow of the Bio-Bio River and flood the land where her native Pehuenche community, Ralco Lepoy, have lived for centuries.