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Dawn of the People |
Puerto Cabezas: Our Sister City |
Sister Cities: Side by Side
Dawn of the People:
Nicaragua's Literacy Crusade |
0ne of the greatest accomplishments of the Sandinista Revolution
(1979) was their literacy crusade of the early 1980's. Despite the Contra
War and later political setbacks, the alphabetization campaign inspired a
new international interest in mutual aid and cross-cultural understanding.
he United Nations called the 1980 Nicaraguan Literacy Crusade the
most important social movement of its generation. Dawn of the People
illustrates the methods and politics of the literacy project, with comments
from the crusade's famous coordinator, Father Fernando Cardenal. It takes
viewers into factories and homes, classrooms and coffee plantations,
introducing both the brigadistas (young teachers) and the people they taught
to read. Dawn of the People was codirected by award-winning filmmakers
Doreen Kraft and Jay Craven. Craven also directed A Stranger in the Kingdom
and Where the river Flows North.
"We did not know how to read. We were in darkness. We wanted to learn, so
the new government sent brigadistas. Now we are coming out of the darkness."
Juan, a peasant in Chinandega, From Dawn of the People
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30-minute video
Written and directed
by Doreen Kraft and
Jay Craven; narrated
by Ossie Davis
Audience Level:
High school/adult
Institutions:
VHS $69.95
Individual/Low Income Groups:
VHS $29.95
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| Puerto Cabezas: Our Sister City |
his journey to Puerto Cabezas, a vital port town on Nicaragua's
Atlantic Coast, examines the region's history and the impacts of the US-
backed Contra War (1981-1989) and international solidarity on the multiethnic
people of the coast.
"Thousands and thousands of people from the United States have traveled to
Nicaragua, but few have an understanding of the situation on the Atlantic
coast. This tape offers a valuable introduction to the reality there and
inspiration for what a sister city project can do." Kathy Engel Director, MADRE
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32-minute video
Directed by
Doreen Kraft and
Marvin Fishman
Audience Level:
High school/adult
Awards:
Bronze Medal, Prix
Leonardo, Fondazione
Medikinale International,
Parma, Italy, 1995
Sale Price:
VHS $19.95
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| Sister Cities: Side by Side |
beautiful collection of photographs revealing the cultures of two
communities - Burlington, Vermont, and Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua. After the
two became sister cities in 1984, University of Vermont professor Dan Higgins
photographed comparable businesses and social groups in both places.
"A vivid comparison of everyday life in the two towns."
Jon Reed The Guardian
"Unpretentious and refreshing, Higgins understands the dynamic of the pose."
Mark Gevisser The Village Voice
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64-page book
Illustrated in color and
black and white
Photos by Dan
Higgins, foreword by
Alexander Cockburn
Audience Level:
Middle school/adult
Price: $10
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