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Posts Tagged ‘documentary’

Monday Movie Clip, Voces : Special Circumstances

19 Oct 2009

While a restless toddler jumped on the bed, I watched pedazos of this documentary last night on Voces on my local PBS station.

Special Circumstances follows Chilean exile Héctor Salgado as he returns to Chile from the USA to seek and confront the men who imprisoned him and tortured and killed his friends after the coup of 1973. Through his journey, audiences will come to understand the legal, political and social obstacles standing in the way of a nation’s attempt, thirty years later, to overcome its brutal history. Throughout five years of determined digging, Héctor finds old friends and family members, victims’ families, survivors and others who express divided and passionate opinions about Chile’s past.The resulting film not only tells a dramatic story of Héctor’s encounters with former military personnel, but also gives audiences a rare look at contemporary Chile and the nation’s efforts to reconcile its troubling history.

Sneak Peak at Michael Moore’s “Sicko”

1:50 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Cuba|Health|Movies|World · 1 Comment

23 May 2007

Filmmaker Michael Moore has just released a short clip from his new documentary, Sicko, which compares the American healthcare system to that of Cuba and other countries. The clip shows Moore at a NHS hospital in the U.K., where patients pay nothing for procedures and are even reimbursed for transportation expenses to the facilities:

Michael Moore was recently warned by the U.S. Treasury Department that unauthorized travel into Cuba by Americans is prohibited. This seems to have only fueled media attention around the film, in addition to the movie’s success at Cannes:

In a choice that certainly endeared “Sicko” to the local audience, Moore spends much of the film focusing on France’s socialized medicine. Doctors lead comfortable lives, patients receive attentive care, employers grant extended health-related leaves — all reasons the World Health Organization ranked France tops in its global 2000 survey of the best healthcare countries.

That the United States ranked only 37th on the WHO list, just two slots ahead of Cuba, particularly infuriates Moore: With more wealth and technology than any other country, we nevertheless have 50 million citizens without insurance, 9 million of them children.

What do you think of the clip? Will you see the movie when it comes out? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

Via / YouTube and LATimes.com

Diego Luna: On the other side of the camera

2:36 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Celebrities|Entertainment|Movies|Sports · 3 Comments

16 May 2007

Most of us know Diego Luna from his role in Y tu mamá también (and, if you are a connoisseur of bad telenovelas like me, from Televisa’s El Premio Mayor), but now the actor is branching out and becoming a film maker, and his first film, JC Chávez, explores the life of Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez. Why Chávez? According to Luna:

“…because for 14 years he never lost a fight and for 11 and a half years, he maintained his title as champion of the world.”

The documentary, which chronicles the life of the “greatest living Mexican athlete” will debut on Friday in Mexico City, Guadalajara, Tijuana, Monterrey and Culiacán (Chávez’s hometown). There’s still no word on if and when it will make it the U.S.

Rosie Perez tired of explaining her culture

12:14 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Celebrities|Culture|Movies|Puerto Rico · 28 Comments

12 Jun 2006

Actress Rosie Perez says she got so fed up with trying to explain her cultural background to people that she decided to make a documentary about it, according to Star Pulse:

Rosie Perez was compelled to make her directorial debut a documentary about her roots because she was sick of having to explain her Puerto Rican pride to others. Perez was born and raised in New York but was always taught to take pride in her Latino roots.

After realizing how tough American life can be for Puerto Rican ex-patriots she decided to make a movie about her parents’ homeland. And, while making “Yo Soy Boricua, Pa’que Tu Lo Sepas! (I’m Boricua, Just So You Know!),” the actress recalled childhood memories where she was made to feel stupid – because of her background.

History Channel Celebrates Cesar Chavez

4:32 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Activism|history|TV · Comments Off

28 Mar 2006

This Friday, March 31, marks the birthday of legendary farmworkers’ rights leader Cesar Chavez. To commemorate the date, The History Channel en Español will be featuring a documentary about Chavez’s life, called “La lucha en el campo” (“The Fight in the Fields”):

The Fight in the Fields: Cesar Chavez and the Farmworkers’ Struggle, produced, directed and written by Rick Tejada-Flores and Ray Telles, covers the full arc of Cesar Chavez’s life.

A social history using archival footage, newsreel, and interviews with Ethel Kennedy, former California Governor Jerry Brown, Dolores Huerta, and Chavez’s brother, sister, son and daughter, among others, the documentary traces the remarkable contributions of Chavez and others involved in this epic struggle for safer working conditions, equality, and better pay for farm workers.

The compelling two-hour documentary, which originally premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, garnered numerous awards including a CINE Golden Eagle, a Gold Apple from the National Educational Media Network, an ALMA award from National Council of La Raza, and was also named Best Documentary at the San Antonio CineFestival.

It’s nice to see cable networks such as HBO and The History Channel honoring Latino history for once. I’m used to having to rely on PBS for that.

The film airs on The History Channel en Español this Friday at 8:00 pm EST – 5:00 pm PST

Via / Yahoo! Finance

Cuba without words

3:26 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Cuba|Movies · Comments Off

13 Mar 2006

Checking out another Latino blog, I was reminded of a very moving film I saw on television when I was in Spain a few months ago. It’s called “Suite Habana” and it’s a documentary — made with no dialogue whatsoever — which chronicles a day in the life of some of La Habana’s inhabitants.

…the characterization of each person is patiently constructed as morning passes to afternoon, afternoon to night. Just a sampling: a hospital launderer by day performs in drag by night; a railroad mechanic plays saxophone in his church’s choir; a young man does carpentry work on his family’s home before dancing ballet; an elderly woman keeps house for grandson and husband before painting in night’s silence.

What could be a very tedious film — a lot of scenes are shot in real time with little editing — is just the opposite. I was sucked in from the first moment by the voyeuristic feeling that this type of filmmaking gives you and the trueness of the characters. They exude authenticity because they are caught on film just living their daily lives.

The film, shot in 2003, seems to be pretty much unavailable here in the U.S., though it was shown at the Havana Film Festival and the Tribeca Film Festival in New York. If you have the opportunity to see it, do, because it’s a very rare and objective (as much as it can be) glimpse into the lives of Cubans on the island, and doesn’t get bogged down with politics. Sometimes silence is the best way to communicate.

Via / OffOffOff

Dominican Sexuality caught on tape?

8:04 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Culture|Dominicans|sex · 4 Comments

10 Mar 2006

I ran across a blog post talking very briefly about a documentary, produced by HBO, supposedly about the sex life of Dominicanos. The post said that it was a “montaje” (fake) and says (translation):

It’s not untrue that there is sexual frenzy in our society, but to me what is presented there seemed staged.

I watched the first part of the video, and I’m not sure what it says about Dominican sexuality (actually, I have some strong feelings about it with no relation to a culture — but I’ll keep those to myself for now), but apparently Dominican talk show host “Nuria” has a few things to say on her show tonight. We’ll stand by for her comments, but in the meantime, the Domincan Tourism secretary has something to add:

“The government’s secretary of tourism rejects the documentary presented by the American television network HBO which promotes the Dominican Republic as a sexual paradise, because the material is sensationalist and totally distorts the social and cultural reality of the Dominican people.”

I’m including a link to the video because I’d like to get our Dominicano readers’ take on what it says, if anything about your culture and your sexuality. Does it stereotype Dominican women? And to all readers: is it offensive?

“Sexo Urbano” on You Tube (If you are offended by nudity, sexuality or adult content, please don’t bother to click)

Via / Remolacha

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