Latin American Films
Courageous Women of Colombia
1997 (24 minutes) Produced and directed by Robin Lloyd
Audience Level: High School/Adult
In this 1997 video, testimony from Colombian women shows that the war on drugs is actually a war against the poor.
Arriving in Bogota, an international delegation meets with displaced women and women from coca-growing regions, then travels to refugee camps in Northern Colombia to investigate questions raised by Amnesty International about US involvement in human rights abuses. We hear impassioned pleas for peace from women whose husbands have "disappeared," whose sons have been drawn into the violent conflict, and whose families have experienced forced aerial fumigation of their coca farms. A rarely seen perspective on the drug war, Courageous Women of Colombia is certain to spark debate in Latin American women's studies and among community groups interested in human rights and drug war politics. Created in collaboration with the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, and the Colombia Support Network.
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Encuentro with the Indigenous Peoples of Colombia
w/English and Spanish subtitles
(25 minutes) Produced and Directed by Robin Lloyd
Audience Level: High School/Adult
This video documents the visit of a delegation from the Colombian Human Rights Network to the Cauca region, an area of remote mountains in southwestern Colombia. Indigenous activists from North and South America discuss the effects of European colonization on their cultures. The video culminates with a community gathering where the delivery of material aid is celebrated through speeches, song, and theater.
Journey Home: Accompaniment in Guatemala
(30 minutes) Produced and Directed by Robin Lloyd
High School/Adult
In the early1980's indigenous Guatemalans fled military violence in their highland villages. Before the ethnic cleansing was over 45,000 men, women, and children were exiled in refugee camps in southern Mexico. After years of negotiations, they finally reached an agreement with the Guatemalan government to return to their homeland.
Filmed in January 1993, Journey Home explores their remarkable 'retorno' and examines the role of international solidarity organizations in assisting people to demand their human rights.
As 34 buses cross the Mexico-Guatemala border on their way to the capital, they are greeted by thousands of elated villagers and by Nobel Laureate Rigoberta Menchu. Members of the North American organization Witness for Peace discuss their personal and political motives for accompanying the refugees, and what this breakthrough represents for the rights of the other "returnees." Journey Home is a moving testament to a people's deep connection to the land, the power of international solidarity, and the potential for nonviolent conflict resolution.
"A touching and inspirational video shows what North Americans can do to help support the rights of Indigenous peoples." Lynn Sweezy, American Friends Service Committee
"For teachers of Central American history and politics, public libraries with strong patron interest in the affairs of Latin America, and any other organization seeking to demonstrate the need for, and effectiveness of , social activism, Journey Home will prove a powerful resource." Barb White, librarian, Akron-Summit County Public Library
Creating Another World: World Social Forum 2004
(2003) Directed by Robin Lloyd Produced and Narrated by Marilyn Clement
Audience Level: High School/Adult
The Fight for Labor, Land and Water Rights
Filmed at the World Social Forum in 2003, and around the world, this video is the result of the collaboration between two women: narrator Marilyn Clement, economic justice coordinator of the Global Ministry of Methodist Women, and Robin Lloyd, filmmaker and publisher of Toward Freedom Magazine. On their way to the third Social Forum (2003), they interviewed members of the Landless Peasant Movement, and identified three issues of concern and hope for women and men around the world: the struggle for land and food, a living wage, and the right to water.
The video asks the hard questions: What are the alternatives to corporate globalization? What can we do in our own communities, both in the 2/3rd world and in the US, to reclaim justice and dignity for all?
Another world is not only possible, she is on her way, and on a quiet day, if you listen very carefully, you can hear her breathing! - Arundhati Roy
Dawn of the People: Nicaragua's Literacy Crusade
(30 minute) Written and directed by Doreen Kraft and Jay Craven;
narrated by Ossie Davis
Audience Level: High School/Adult
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.
"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
Puerto Cabezas: Our Sister City
(32 minute) Directed by Doreen Kraft and Marvin Fishman
Audience Level: High School/Adult
This 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