2009-10 Common Reading Program: Full Length Films

For additional information or to borrow materials, please visit http://www.latam.ufl.edu/Outreach/library.stm
To view a summary of the film, please click on the title.

• 90 Miles. (2001).

• Adiós patria? El éxodo cubano. (1995).

• Alambrista and the U.S.-Mexico border : film, music, and stories of undocumented immigrants. (2004).

• Alienated undocumented immigrant youth. (2005).

• Balseros. (2003).

• Global Cities, Immigration and World Economy: America’s Immigration Debate. (2004).

• Global Cities, Immigration and World Economy: Mexico City. (2004).

• Globalization is Good. (2005).

• H2 Worker. (1990).

• Last Days of the Revolution. (1994).

• Made in Argentina. (1987).

• Mirando el sol el fenómeno migratorio de México a Estados Unidos. (1997).

• NAFTA and the New Economic Frontier: Life Along the U.S./Mexico Border. (2004).

• New World Border. (2001).

• Nuyorican Dream. (2006).

• Rights on the line vigilantes on the border. (2005).

• Stories from a Small Planet. Frontline. (2008).

• The Boxer. (2000).

• The Other Side (El Otro Lado). (2001).

• Uprooted: Refugees in the Global Economy. (2001).

 

90 Miles. (2001). Juan Carlos Zaldívar. DVD (53 minutes). Documentary. English.
In 1980, Juan Carlos Zaldívar was a 13-year-old loyalist of the Cuban Revolution jeering in the streets at the thousands of 'Marielitos' leaving the island by boat for the United States. Within weeks, he was a Marielito himself, headed with the rest of his family for a new life in Miami. Now a U.S.-based filmmaker, Zaldívar recounts the strange twist of fate that took him across one of the world's most treacherous stretches of water in 90 Miles, a new documentary having its broadcast premiere on PBS.

Adiós patria? El éxodo cubano. (1995). Malecon Films. VHS (80 minutes). Documentary. Spanish.
This documentary depicts the plight of those who have fled Castro's Cuba throughout the 1960s and 1970s, the Mariel Boatlift of 1980 and the "rafter" crisis of the 1990s. Features the views and analyses of authors, journalists, political figures and scholars. Illustrates how the political, economic, and social conditions on the island have prompted mass migrations. Available through the Latin American Collection at Smathers Library, UF.

Alambrista and the U.S.-Mexico border : film, music, and stories of undocumented immigrants. (2004). University of New Mexico Press. CD with documents and video. English.
Contains the newly-enhanced "director's cut" of "Alambrista" a full-length feature film first made in 1977, which is still extremely timely; on the same DVD, there is a documentary on migrant children ("Children of the Fields") and interviews with filmmakers, musicians and scholars. Another cut of the feature film, with a voice-over by the musical director explaining the process of designing the new soundtrack. And a separate song-by-song, scene-by-scene view of the music. Part One explores the historical and political context in well-researched essays by scholars as Albert Camarillo and Teresa Carillo. Part Two offers essays on film criticism and analysis as they relate to the project. Available through the Latin American Collection at Smathers Library, UF.

Alienated undocumented immigrant youth. (2005). Educational Video Center. VHS (28 minutes). Documentary. English.
Alienated gives voice to undocumented youth immigrants facing the challenges of life after high school with no options for legalized work or college. A determined young woman from St. Vincent commutes from Brooklyn to New Jersey to work as a nanny for $4 an hour, while another young woman from St. Lucia tells how she was detained in seven U.S. prisons between the ages of 17 and 20. Meanwhile, anti-immigrant groups rally around lobbying efforts that seek to impose ever harsher policies and to "protect our borders." Through interviews with legal counselors, youth service providers, and activists on both sides of the immigration debate, Alienated examines what it means to be young, able and "illegal" in America. Available through the Latin American Collection at Smathers Library, UF.

Balseros. (2003). Lauren Films. VHS (120 minutes). Documentary. Spanish with English subtitles.
This documentary is an Academy Award nominee for best documentary feature about “balseros”, a slang term for rafters. This documents seven Cubans and their families who venture to the United States on homemade rafts. This film spans 7 years and began during 1994 in which President Bill Clinton and Fidel Castro argued over the closing of Cuba’s coast.

Global Cities, Immigration and World Economy: America’s Immigration Debate. (2004). Films for the Humanities & Sciences. DVD (26 minutes). Documentary. English.
Diversity from immigration keeps cities alive, former Senator Bill Bradley (D-NJ) and other leaders assert in this program; opposing views are also presented, thus summarizing America’s immigration debate with mixed evaluations of its capacity for change. Using commentary from several experts—including Michael Teitelbaum, vice chair of the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform, and Margie McHugh, executive director of the New York Immigrant Coalition—this program studies the isolation of ethnic communities, the shifting of racial definitions, and America’s lack of an infrastructure to support immigrant integration.

Global Cities, Immigration and World Economy: Mexico City. (2004). Films for the Humanities & Sciences. DVD (26 minutes). Documentary. English.
This program defines Mexico City’s globalization in terms of winners and losers, examining how, in the world’s largest metropolis, immigration challenges are linked to poverty and population influx from surrounding rural areas. Contrasting the city’s high-tech facilities and fashionable neighborhoods with its sprawling slums and their struggling inhabitants, the program outlines the relationship between foreign investment and the worldwide need for cheap labor, which Mexico and its indigenous peoples readily supply. Glimpses into a tech-savvy youth culture and the persistent Zapatista movement reinforce the capital’s nickname: City of Contrasts.

Globalization is Good. (2005). Films for the Humanities & Sciences. DVD (50 minutes). Documentary. English.
"Globalization is good" tells a tale of two countries that were equally poor 50 years ago - Taiwan and Kenya. Today Taiwan is 20 times richer than Kenya. We meet the farmers and entrepreneurs that could develop Taiwan because it introduced a market economy and integrated into global trade. And we meet the Kenyan farmers and slum dwellers that are still desperately poor, because Kenya shut its door to globalization. The Kenyans are suffering from regulations, corruption and the lack of property rights. The unequal distribution in the world is a result of the unequal distribution of capitalism - those who have capitalism grow rich, those who don't stay poor. The film also explores the role of multinational corporations, especially the most criticized - Nike.

H2 Worker. (1990). Docurama. VHS (70 minutes). Documentary. English.Winner of the Grand Jury prize at the Sundance Film Festival, H-2
Worker reveals the systematic exploitation of Caribbean laborers by the Florida sugar industry from World War II through the 1990s. Each year more than 10,000 foreign workers were granted temporary guest worker (''H-2'') visas to spend six brutal months cutting sugar cane near Lake Okeechobee. They were housed in overcrowded barracks, denied adequate treatment for frequent on-the-job injuries, and paid less than minimum wage. Faced with deportation and soaring unemployment in their home countries, workers had little recourse but to silently accept these humiliating conditions. Clandestinely filmed in the cane fields and around the workers' barracks, H-2 Worker exposes this travesty of justice, which remained a well-kept secret for decades.

Last Days of the Revolution. (1994). PBS Video. VHS (60 minutes). Documentary. English.
This documentary tells the story of the economic and political deterioration in Cuba. Shot primarily on location in Cuba, it allows the viewer to see firsthand the hardships of its people and looks closely at the effects of the U.S. embargo. Also detailed is the mass exodus from Cuba and the sudden shift in U.S. immigration policy. Available through the Latin American Collection at Smathers Library, UF.

Made in Argentina. (1987). Progress Communications Corp. VHS (86 minutes). Documentary. Spanish with English subtitles, English.
Tras un exilio de diez años en Estados Unidos, Mabel y Osvaldo, una pareja de argentinos, vuelve a su barrio. Alli se reencuentran con Yoli y el Negro, hermano de Mabel. El reencuentro entre dos hermanos y sus respectivas parejas tiene que ver con un reclamo de afectos. Y un rescate de valores morales perdidos. Los que se fueron quieren encontrarse con todas aquellas cosas que no pudieron llevarse en las valijas: los olores, los sentimientos, la identidad. Los qué se quedaron, ven aqui un pais posible, donde alguna vez tiene que pasar algo positivo que lo haga cambiar. Los cuatro representan las ansiedades, deseos y utopias de los argentinos. Available through the Latin American Collection at Smathers Library, UF.

Mirando el sol el fenómeno migratorio de México a Estados Unidos. (1997). ITESCO, CIESAS. VHS (52 minutes). Documentary. Spanish.
Producción que interpreta la conciencia de los gobiernos planteando la migración de los mejicanos hacia Estados Unidos en búsqueda de un futuro más seguro, justificando así el sufrimiento y perseverancia para hacer algo más en la vida. Available through the Latin American Collection at Smathers Library, UF.

NAFTA and the New Economic Frontier: Life Along the U.S./Mexico Border. (2004). Films for the Humanities & Sciences. DVD (23 min). Documentary. English.
ABC News correspondent Judy Muller reports on the quality of life along the international border between El Paso and Juarez since the implementation of NAFTA. Program concludes with a discussion between Ted Koppel and Fernando Macias, leader of a consortium of American and Mexican officials charged with managing change along this new economic frontier.

New World Border. (2001). Peek Media. VHS (28 minutes). Documentary. English.
Documents the rise in human rights abuses along the U.S./Mexico border since the implementation of border blockades (Operation Gatekeeper), which have been erected in populated areas throughout the border region during the last decade. Includes interviews with immigrant rights organizers, testimony from immigrants, analysis of "free trade" policies and current efforts to build a vibrant movement for immigrant rights. Available through the Latin American Collection at Smathers Library, UF.

Nuyorican Dream. (2006). Big Mouth Productions. DVD (82 minutes). Documentary. English.
A gripping portrait of one Puerto Rican family living in NYC. Roberto, 29, the eldest son gay and living in Greenwich Village. Marta the family matriarch, living in Brooklyn and raising the grandchildren that have, for the most part been abandonded by their parents. Danny, 23, returning from Riker's Island after spending yet more time in jail. Beatriz, vanishing periodically to indulg her crack cocain habit. Hip-Hop and Latin music serve as the sound track to this honest but often painful portrait of an American family.

Rights on the line vigilantes on the border. (2005). American Friends Service Committee: Witness. DVD (43 minutes). Documentary. English.
Explores the continuum between official border militarization and vigilante action on the U.S.-Mexico border. Available through the Latin American Collection at Smathers Library, UF.

Stories from a Small Planet. Frontline. (2008). PBS Video. DVD (60 minutes). Documentary. English.
Companion to the PBS series which focuses on international figures and events. Each episode features several short stories, working with younger, more diverse group of writers and producers from other countries as well as the United States who will take viewers on a journey of discovery to another country or culture. Available through the Latin American Collection at Smathers Library, UF.

The Boxer. (2000). Bullfrog Films. DVD (24 minutes). Documentary. English.
Part 6 of a series on how the globalized world economy affects ordinary people. This film follows Luis Rodriguez, who lives in a remote peasant village in southern Mexico, who hopes to become a boxing champion in the United States. This film follows him as he travels north to the US-Mexican border, joining other migrants determined to outwit the U.S. border guards. Eventually he succeeds in crossing the border and finds work as an illegal alien. Available through the Latin American Collection at Smathers Library, UF.

The Other Side (El Otro Lado). (2001). Bullfrog Films. DVD (27 minutes). Documentary. English.
Over the last century hundreds of thousands of Mexicans have migrated to the United States in search of a living wage. Particularly in the 1980s, thousands of indigenous people made the 3,000 mile trip from the southern state of Oaxaca, many illegally crossing the border, to find work in Los Angeles. Available through the Latin American Collection at Smathers Library, UF.

Uprooted: Refugees in the Global Economy. (2001). National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights. VHS (28 minutes). Documentary. English.
Uprooted tells the stories of three immigrants to the United States from Bolivia, Haiti and the Philippines. Each story reveals the way in which global institutions like the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, as well as multinational corporations, erode people's capacity to survive in their home countries