CINE CLUB SURCLA Presents
Venue: Refectory, Quadrangle Building
Date: Commencing Week 5, and every second Tuesday thereafter.
Time: 5.30pm
Tambores de Agua. Un encuentro ancestral (Water Drums)
Tue 03 April 2012
A documentary by Clarissa Duque. Venezuela/Cameroon, 2009, 75 minutes. Spanish and French, English subtitles.
Madeinusa
Tue 24 April 2012
A film by Claudia Llosa. Peru/Spain, 2006, 100 minutes. Spanish and Quechua, English subtitles.
Ella es el Matador (She is the Matador)
Tue 08 May 2012
A documentary by Gemma Cubero and Celeste Carrasco. Spain/USA, 2009, 62 minutes. Spanish and Italian, English subtitles.
XXY
Tue 22 May 2012
A film by Lucía Puenzo. Argentina, 2007, 86 minutes. Spanish, English subtitles.
Cuba Mia (Cuba Mia: Portrait Of An All-Woman Orchestra)
Tue 05 Jun 2012
A film by Cecilia Domeyko. Chile/Cuba/USA, 2010, 86 minutes. Spanish, English subtitles.
Past Events
Botín de Guerra (David Blaustein, Argentina 2000, 120 min. Spanish, English Subtitles.)
Tuesday 29 March 2011
Botín de guerra is a documentary about the ‘disappeared’ children of the last Argentine dictatorship (1976-1983), some of whom were abducted from their kidnapped parents by the military forces, whilst others were born when their mothers were in captivity in clandestine concentration camps. Hence its title: those children were the ‘spoils’ of the ‘dirty war’, systematically appropriated by those who won it, the armed forces and the police. It is estimated that more than 500 children went missing during those years, and by the time the film was made, 66 of them had been found thanks to the work of the Association ‘Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo’. The film is partly a detailed chronicle of the Grandmothers of Plaza de Mayo from their beginnings in 1977 through to 2000, and their tireless work searching for their grandchildren. But it is also a document of the recent reunions, from both the grandmothers’ and the grandchildren’s perspectives.
Poto Mitan, Haitian Women: Pillars of the Global Economy (Renée Bergan & Mark Schuller, 2009, 50 min. French, Creole with English Subtitles.)
Tuesday 12 April 2011
Told through compelling lives of five courageous Haitian women workers, Poto Mitan gives the global economy a human face. Each woman's personal story explains neoliberal globalization, how it is gendered, and how it impacts Haiti: inhumane working/living conditions, violence, poverty, lack of education, and poor health care. While Poto Mitan offers in-depth understanding of Haiti, its focus on women's subjugation, worker exploitation, poverty, and resistance demonstrates these are global struggles. Finally, through their collective activism, these women demonstrate that despite monumental obstacles in a poor country like Haiti, collective action makes change possible
Made in LA (Almudena Carracedo, 2007, 70 min. Spanish, English Subtitles.)
Tuesday 10 May 2011
Made in L.A. is an Emmy award-winning feature documentary that follows the remarkable story of three Latina immigrants working in Los Angeles garment sweatshops as they embark on a three-year odyssey to win basic labor protections from a trendy clothing retailer. In intimate verite style, Made in L.A. reveals the impact of the struggle on each woman’s life as they are gradually transformed by the experience. Compelling, humorous, deeply human, Made in L.A. is a story about immigration, the power of unity, and the courage it takes to find your voice.
La Batalla de las cruces (Rafael Bonilla Pedroza, 2005, 82 min. Spanish with, English Subtitles.)
Tuesday 24 May 2011
This film is the product of research undertaken by a group of social scientists led by Patricia Ravelo Blancas, from the Centre for Research and Studies in Social Anthropology, Mexico. The documentary attempts to list or catalogue the myriad complex intersecting sets of public and private actors who, with massive amounts of private money and political power at their disposal, managed to directly or indirectly violate the human rights of scores of young Mexican women, their families and defenders, falsely accused defendants, their murdered lawyers, and journalists without anyone being held accountable. This documentary is invaluable for illuminating the context surrounding the hundreds of murders and disappearances of women in Juárez.
This screening will be presented by Sydney Action for Juárez.
At Highest Risk | Right to Life, Guatemala (Rebecca Rivas,2006, 42 min Spanish, Quechua, English Subtitles)
30 August 2011
Within the past decade, the Andean women in Peru have faced a massive sterilization campaign, exorbitant fines for homebirths, remnants of a deadly civil war, and the second highest maternal death rate in South America. Yet, as they have for centuries, the Quechua and Aymara people are fighting to preserve their traditions, beliefs and integrity. Through the compelling story of one Andean woman, Judyth Aguero Vega, we see the horrors and triumphs of Peru's volatile health care situation. Inside a small adobe kitchen, Elsa Romero-Murrado, a midwife in the rural town of Cajamarca, takes us through rarely seen birthing ceremonies. Down the dirt path, her neighbor Judyth, 27, shares her fears of birth as she bestrides the lines of modern and traditional medicine. Their town sits seven hours from the nearest hospital. Celia Mendoza, president of the Mother's Club, testifies to a list of 200 women who were bribed by doctors to undergo sterilization. At Highest Risk winds through the beauty of Andean people's spirituality and their mysterious gift of self-preservation throughout centuries of adversity. As part of a Fulbright grant, the crew spent one year researching and filming in some of the most inaccessible regions of the Peruvian Andes.
Right to Life, Guatemala (Greg Brosnan, 2010, 25 min Spanish, English, English Subtitles)
Today, illegal abortions are the leading cause of death among young women in Latin America. Whether they are performed in major cities or in the isolated countryside, these 'back room' abortions are leaving thousands of young women dead each year. Guatemala has the highest fertility rate among women and yet it remains the poorest country in the region where women can ill afford large families. Unwanted pregnancies, coupled with the forces of tradition and politics, leave few options for these families. Through the work of an activist and the medical team she leads, this film explores the questions of family planning, which many see as the right to life. This documentary is part of the Al Jazeera English Network set that comprises eight short films on maternal health called "Birthrights"
Translatinas (Luis Felipe Degregori, 2010,90 mins, Spanish, English Subtitles)
13 September 2011:
Translatinas paints an alarming and enlightening portrait of the realities faced by transgender persons in Latin America, a group very affected by the HIV epidemic. This 90-minute documentary is the result of three years of production, more than 100 hours of filming, and interviews with people from 15 nationalities and provides a realistic look at the challenges faced by transgender persons in accessing education, work, justice, health care, and other basic services.
La marcha de las putas (The SlutWalk) (Luis Felipe Degregori, 2010,90 mins, Spanish, English Subtitles)
4 October 2011
Is SlutWalk feminista? The SlutWalk protest marches began in April this year in Toronto, Canada and have become a movement of rallies across the world including in Mexico, Nicaragua, Honduras, Brazil, Costa Rica and most recently in Argentina.
The rallies began when Constable Michael Sanguinetti, a Toronto officer, on January 24, 2011 spoke on crime prevention at a York University safety forum. He said: "women should avoid dressing like sluts in order not to be victimized". The screening is a compilation of a series of short video clips and images of SlutWalks in Latin America, which were especially selected by Colectivo Mujer with the purpose of opening up a debate around this topic. We invite the audience to reflect with us on the following: What do these events signify? What is achieved by redeeming the term slut? Are SlutWalks simply the pornification of protest? Or are they reflective of successful feminist action?
Gabriela de Elqui, Mistral del Mundo
18 October 2011
Luis Vera examines the life and work of the first Latin American woman to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, Chilean writer, diplomat and educator Gabriela Mistral. This is the story of a woman with solid convictions, who felt a deep love for children and a passion for teaching, literature and social justice. She understood education as a transformative force that could lead to overcoming inequality. Mistral's international stature started when in mid-1925 she was invited to represent Latin America in the newly formed Institute for Intellectual Cooperation of the League of Nations. Apart from offering a chronicle of Mistral’s remarkable achievements, Vera’s documentary also dwells on her voice as a poet. Her work often reflects both her passions and obsessions as well as her deep understanding of Latin American reality.
Myths, History and Memory: Documentaries on Argentina
Like other Latin American countries, Argentina has been hosting patriotic events throughout 2010 commemorating the 1810 May Revolution, which led to the country’s independence from Spain in 1816. With the purpose to reflect on Argentina’s complex history, SURCLA offers a selection of documentaries which chart significant cultural elements, events, and iconic figures as well as lesser-known aspects of Argentina. From different perspectives, the selected documentaries explore a wide range of topics and events which include the Afro-argentines; the mythical Evita; the 1972 massacre of Trelew; the Mbya Guaraní and tango performers and composers.
Negro Che: Los primeros desaparecidos (Alberto Masliah, 2006, 88 min)
Thursday 12 August 2010
“NEGRO CHE” responds to contemporary racism and marginalization by presenting the voices of individual Afro-argentines, who recount their experiences of discrimination. “NEGRO CHE” provides an important challenge to the marginalization of black peoples in Argentine official history. This is a gripping tale of the ways in which the Afro-Argentines have resisted and coped with everyday racism and are claiming their rightful place within Argentine history and culture.
Trelew (Mariana Arruti, 2004, 98 min)
Thursday 26 August 2010
This is a documentary about the 1972 massacre of Trelew, Patagonia, in which a group of political prisoners where executed when they were trying to flee the country. The objectives of the escape were clear: the militants would return to armed combat and direct a blow to the dictatorship, in order to break the conditional framework of the call to elections for March 1973. Three survived, sixteen died. The Trelew Massacre was a forewarning of the State terrorism, which would be cultivated by the subsequent Military Dictatorship (1976-1983)
Café de los Maestros (Miguel Kohan, 2008, 92 min, English Subtitles)
Thursday 9 September 2010
This is a musical journey to the golden era of tango through the experiences of Argentine and Uruguayan composers, arrangers, musicians, and singers, most of them pushing or past 80 years old. In the tradition of Buena Vista Social Club, this documentary follows this ensemble of passionate tango lovers as they prepare for a mythical performance in the Teatro Colón in Buenos Aires. Some of them are as famous in Argentina as international celebrities, while others have chosen to remain well-kept secrets.
Evita: the documentary (Eduardo Montes-Bradley, 2008, 64 min, English)
Thursday 23 September 2010
This documentary, unveils the complex history of the young actress that ruled the lives of millions. More than three thousand photographs, hundreds of hours of archival footage and recordings produced by the Peronist propaganda machine half a century ago, were unearthed and meticulously researched to bring this dynamic, larger-than-life protagonist back to life. "Evita", by Eduardo Montes-Bradley, spares no conflict, nor softens the sharp edges of a questionable life placing the unfeigned character back in her real dimension.
Mbya, tierra en rojo (Philip Cox and Valeria Mapelman, 2004, 72 min, English Subtitles)
Thursday 7 October 2010
Adultery, identity, 9/11, Hollywood and God, all against the backdrop of the rainforest. Argentina’s Guarani indigenous people reveal some extraordinary stories in this independent three-year UK/Argentina production. With its intimate style and compelling characters determined to speak for themselves, the film takes the viewer into the world of the Guaraní people and their fierce struggle to defend their land and preserve their culture and identity.