Weaving Wisdom
(Tejer Sabiduría)
88 minutes and 52 minutes; English subtitles © 2010
Weaving Wisdom reveals how in Colombia native nations are defending their lives, land and autonomy amid the armed conflict that pits guerrilla fighters against U.S.-sponsored government security forces and paramilitaries. The film follows three native women in southern and northern Colombia as they struggle to overcome rights abuses resulting from the ongoing violence. Despite the militarization, killings and imprisonment faced by the protagonists, this is a story of resilience and hope.
Separated By Free Trade
(Separados Por El Libre Comercio)
14 minutes; English subtitles © 2009 - with music by Lila Downs
Fifteen years of free trade with Mexico has put the country’s 56 indigenous cultures at risk. In Chiapas, Juana and her children struggle to survive as her husband works illegally in the U.S. This is the story of thousands of Mexicans who lost livelihoods in the Mexican countryside due to the implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA. This is the story of the women left behind to farm, raise children, and carry on culture as their husbands toil beyond a dangerous border.
To Be Dust In Our Land: The Case of German Escué Zapata
(Ser Polvo En Nuestra Tierra: El Caso de German Escué Zapata)
28 minutes; English subtitles - in post-production
What happens when an indigenous nation organizes to reclaim its ancestral lands? In southern Colombia, where the land recuperation movement has been active since the 1970s, the answer is: They get killed. This film follows the case of German Escué Zapata, a Nasa leader in the state of Cauca, who was tortured and killed by the Colombian army in 1988. It traces his family and community as they search for justice, a quest that eventually leads them to the Inter-American Court on Human Rights in Costa Rica in 2007. The film shows how the movement to recover ancestral lands continues in southern Colombia, as does the extra-judicial killing of its leaders.
