Las Américas Film Network

New titles available from Las Américas include the two awarding winning titles about marginalized people and the struggles they face simply to maintain their existence. From Chile, Apaga y vamonos eloquently defines the struggle between cultural preservation and economic growth for a depressed region. Both an artful and politically charged film, this Spanish production goes well beyond the docu-drama format and sets up a power struggle beyond Mapuche and the multi-national corporation ENDESA creating tension that few documentaries films can achieve. Winner of Best Film at Planet in Focus and EcoCine, as well as recipient of numerous honorable mentions at festivals around the globe, Apaga y vamonos is not to be missed.

Also new this month is Seres extravagantes 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.

We are also very excited about our involvement in two upcoming projects. First, as we have mentioned before, Las Américas is co-producing its first documentary film with El Inmigrante director John Sheedy titled The Tijuana Project. This film focuses on the lives of children who live in the Tijuana dumps and the hardships and hope they face living in a trash dump that is set to close. Read below for an update from the filmmaker.

Our other project, sure to be a hit this fall, is the co-promotion of the North American Favela Rising/AfroReggae tour. One of the most popular documentaries of 2006, Favela Rising, follows the people involved in the cultural organization/musical group Grupo Cultural AfroReggae. This fall, AfroReggae will be on tour in the US! Read more below about your organization can host this amazing event.

As always, if there is anything we can do for you, please let us know.

Saludos,

Brian Knighten
Director, Las Américas Film Network

Section links:

New Titles Available
The Tijuana Project Update
AfroReggae and Favela Rising US Tour

NEW TITLES

	Apaga y vamonos (Switch Off) Manel Mayol Chile, 2005, 87 minutes 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...
	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.

TIJUANA PROJECT UPDATE

The Tijuana Project is a documentary film about hope thriving in the Tijuana garbage dump community. Since starting this project three months ago, we have been invited into the lives of the Manzo family, a family who live and work in the Tijuana garbage dump and send their seven children to Responsibility, the school next to the dump.

We have also seen the plague of drugs and violence that is threatening the dump neighborhood. Although the Manzo's are combating this threat through love of family and a chance to educate their children, they are now challenged with the imminent closure of the dump.

We will continue documenting the changes in this neighborhood and the opportunities created by the school. We are also trying to raise money to bring children's theater to the children in the dump. - From director John Sheedy

The Tijuana Project is fiscally sponsored by Fractured Atlas. All contributions are tax-deductible. Visit the Tijuana Project website where you can make a contribution to continue this important piece of work - http://www.tijuanaproject.org/

Hear a PRI story on the closing of the Tijuana dump

View the PRI slideshow featuring a voice-over director John Sheedy

FAVELA RISING AND AFROREGGAE US TOUR ANNOUNCED

Las Américas Film Network is pleased to partner with the Mondo Mundo Agency on the promotion of the North American Favela Rising/AfroReggae tour, August 1-31, 2007. This film screening and performance is more than an event – it’s presentation of hope and accomplishment by one of Brazil’s most influential social organizations. The multi-award winning film Favela Rising (Brazil, 2005) documents the founding and explosive growth of Grupo Cultural AfroReggae and it’s co-founder Anderson Sá through stunning images of the favelas and the AfroReggae movement. Touring the US for the first time since the release of Favela Rising, this dual presentation is sure to be deacon of inspiration for all seeking to find ways to unite and encourage positive change throughout the world.

About Favela Rising:
Shortlisted for an Oscar in 2006, screened in over 20 countries worldwide, a film that has given inspiration to community organizers throughout the world, Favela Rising documents the Brazilian movement that is AfroReggae. Named “Documentary of the Year” from the International Documentary Association, directors Matt Mochary and Jeff Zimbalist gain unrestricted access to the favelas documenting life that is precarious at best. Although desperation and violence plague those of live in the favelas, one organization has set out to make a difference. FAVELA RISING documents a man and a movement, a city divided and a favela 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.

About AfroReggae:
Not just a band, they're a movement. From the most notorious shantytown (favela) in Rio, the idea took hold that there had to be a way to stop the violence. Out of that desire, Grupo Cultural AfroReggae was born, first as a community-betterment organization that printed a newspaper, organized classes for kids, and worked to keep them out of the drug trade. Afroreggae, the band, started as a way to get youth involved in playing music instead of being destroyed on the streets. Music was seen as the way to spread the message- and it spread fast. AfroReggae are now bona-fide stars in Brasil. Last year they performed for over 1million people with the Rolling Stones on Copacabana beach.

Avail. 8/6- 8/31 (8/11 blackout date)

More info about AfroReggae:

This tour is being managed by Mondo Mundo <www.mondomundo.biz>. For more information, please contact Brian Knighten at <brian@lasamericasfilms.org> or Phil Ballman <phil@mondomundo.biz>.

MAY 2007 NEWSLETTER