FILMOGRAPHY GUATEMALA
The videos contained in the list are produced in Guatemala or are about Guatemala, it includes culture, history, arts, literature, politics, etc. For further information on a title please use our online catalog or feel free to contact Cindy Badilla-Melendez, the Media Resources Librarian or call (651) 962-5464.
Americas in Transition: F1418 .A44 1981
Focuses on American military intervention in Nicaragua, Guatemala, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Chile, and El Salvador. Discusses the roots of dictatorship, its effects on citizens, movements toward majority rule, and communist influences.
Discovering Dominga: F1466.5 .D57 2002
Denese Becker, born Dominga Sic Ruiz, is a survivor of the 1982 Rio Negro massacre in Guatemala. Nine years old at the time of the massacre, during which both of her parents were killed, Denese was adopted by an American family and raised in Iowa. As an adult she begins to confront her memories and nightmares, returning to Guatemala almost twenty years after the massacre and ultimately becoming an advocate for the victims and survivors at great personal cost.
Guatemala the Human Price of Coffee: F1465.3.A37 G8 2005 DVD
Owners of small coffee farms and members of the the coffee cooperative Manos Campesinas are interviewed in this documentary about coffee production in Guatemala. Thanks to the Fair Trade Market, a European organization that guarantees a price for the farmers and finds buyers, cooperative members are earning 40% more than independent small farmers who sell on the local market.
Guatemala Silenced: F1465.3.S6 G8 2004 DVD
It examines the submissiveness of upper-class women; a new emerging middle class who are defying tradition to fight for their rights; and the indigenous population, who are segregated and discriminated against.
Killer's Paradise: F1465.3.S6 K5 2007 DVD
A report on violence against women in Guatemala, in recent years. Decades of civil war had left the country awash with guns and drugs. As more women leave home for school and work, they have become targets. At least two women are being murdered, per day. There exists a culture of violence, where women are the prey, attacks have become accepted, and even common place. Their murderers know they will never be caught, because most murders are never investigated and no one is charged. University students, Claudina and Titina, and school-girl, Stephanie were amongst more than 1,500 Guatemalan women, who have been murdered in the last four years. The police and homicide department seem indifferent to, uninterested in, the alarming figures, claiming that such killings were crimes of passion, or that the victims were in gangs involved in organised crimes. The growing number of women murdered is due to impunity and inefficiency. Includes interviews with families of the murdered women in this report; and with Norma Cruiz, human rights activist who helps such families seek justice.
The Man We Called Juan Carlos: F1435.3.P7 M3 2000
The story of an ordinary man, whose life affected the lives of the filmmakers for over 25 years. Wenceslao Armira, a Mayan Indian, who was an illiterate peasant until the arrival of a foreign aid project, became a teacher, community organizer, guerilla, then Mayan priest. His life raises questions about social justice, life choices and the cost of commitment.
Maya: the Blood Kings: F1435 .M39 1995
While Europe was in the midst of the Dark Ages, the Maya of Central America were developing a culture responsible for a complicated writing system, mathematic and astrological calculations and archeological marvels. Explore ruins in the jungles of Mexico, Honduras and Guatemala to understand a people both sophisticated and bloodthirsty and a society that collapsed with mysterious speed.
Rigoberta Menchu: Casandra and Crusader: F1465.3.S6 R5 2003 DVD
An interview with Rigoberta Menchu, an Indian rights advocate from Guatemala. Topics discussed include her life at home and in exile, her autobiographical book, and her associations with political organizations.
Rigoberta Menchu: F1465.3.S6 R5 1993
This program focuses on 1992 Nobel Peace Prize winner, Rigoberta Menchu, as she discusses the lack of human rights for the indigenous people of Guatemala and her commitment to the struggle for a more egalitarian society.
What in the World?: Guatemala: HD9199.G82 H5 2006 DVD In English
Coffee is second only to oil as the world's most valuable traded commodity, but small scale producers rarely profit from it. This program reveals the hardship and uncertainty faced by coffee farmers in Guatemala, and how many are taking steps to obtain better prices and build better lives. Analyzing the country's traumatic history and the lingering effects of its civil war, the video sheds light on the reluctance of some citizens to organize for fear of persecution and murder.
When the Mountains Tremble: F1465.3.P64 W4 2004 DVD
A documentary describing the struggle of the Indian peasantry in Guatemala against state and foreign oppression. Uses a variety of formats--interviews, direct address, newsreels,
re-enactments, video transmissions, and live footage shot at great hazard. Loosely centered on the experiences of a 23 year old Indian woman now living in exile.
In Whose Interest?: E744 .I59 2002 DVD
Revealing a pattern of intervention, the film focuses on Guatemala, Vietnam, East Timor, El Salvador and Palestine/Israel.
El Norte: PN1997 .N67 2006 DVD In Spanish with English subtitles
Set in the remote mountain jungles of Guatemala, Mayan peasants, tired of being thought of as nothing more than 'brazos fuertes' (manual laborers), begin organizing in an effort to improve their lives. The Guatemalan army retaliate by destroying their village and killing their families. One teenage boy, Enrique, and his sister, Rosa, barely escape the massacre and flee to 'el norte.' Aided by friends and a veteran immigrant, they make their way by truck, bus and other means to Los Angeles, where they try to make a new life.
El Norte: PN1997 .N67 2002
A brother and sister, two young Indians from Guatemala, set out to find a better life when their father is killed by government soldiers and their mother is taken away. Their journey to the north, the "promised land," is fought with dangers and when they reach Los Angeles they are "illegal" submerged in an alien culture.
El Silencio de Neto: PN1997 .S555 2004 DVD
Filmed in the colonial city of Antigua, The Silence of Neto tells the politically-charged story of a young boy striving to follow his dreams while his country struggles to preserve democracy amidst CIA cold-war propaganda. Through the eyes of young Neto, we are given an authentic insider's look at the diverse people of Guatemala and the historical events that have shaped their destiny.
Compiled by
Cindy Badilla-Melendez
Media Resources Librarian
