Sundays •• 2pm
De Paul University, Schmitt Academic Center, Room 154 or Levan 306
All films are in English, or in Spanish with English subtitles. Schmitt Academic Center is located at 2320 N. Kenmore, near the Fullerton stop on the Red Line.
Mission Against Terror October 22 Levan 306
Mission Against Terror, provides a thorough understanding of the struggle for the “Cuban Five” – Cuban men imprisoned in the United States since Sept. 12, 1998 for infiltrating the Miami based anti-Cuba organizations. Much of the film’s beginning revolves around an interview with Philip Agee, former CIA agent and notable dissenter, as he discusses the subversive activities that the CIA planned in the 1960s. The movie then moves to the Cuban Five and the 90s, when US sponsored terrorist groups bombed Cuban hotels and the Tropicana nightclub. The film notes, for example, the case of Orlando Bosch, the mastermind behind the 1976 bombing of a Cuban airliner. Bosch took refuge in the U.S., received a presidential pardon from George H.W. Bush, and today lives as a free man in Miami.
Mountain of Light/Montana de Luz October 22 Levan 306
A documentary project which involved three Cuban film crews visiting Honduras, Haiti, Guatemala, Mali, Namibia, Burkina Faso and Botswana to document how Cuban medical aid has been helping the poor in those countries. Facing challenges like floods in Guatemala and the searing heat of Namibia, Cuban doctors have successfully helped ease the pain of ordinary people in these countries. Mountain of Light relates stories of life and death, of laughter and pain in a way which is sure to tug at even the most cynical viewers heartstrings.
Llaguno Bridge: Keys to a Massacre November 12 Levan 306
Directed by Angel Palacios 105 mins.
This documentary features images, testimonies and facts by Cuban filmmaker Angel Palacios relating to the Venezuelan coup d’etat of April 2002. The film unmasks the conspiracies and plots leading up to the so-called massacre at the Llaguno Bridge. Palacios explores how the Venezuelan media twisted facts and news reality to blame the massacre on President Chávez. This work also shows how the people defended themselves against the Caracas Metropolitan Police who helped execute the attempted coup d’etat.
Fidel December 3
Fidel, an award-winning documentary by Cuban-American journalist, Estela Bravo, is a portrait of the Cuban leader. The film spans a period of 40 years of Castro’s rule from his early childhood and college days to his Presidency of Cuba and includes interviews with Harry Belafonte, Nelson Mandela, Alice Walker, Gabriel Garcia-Marquez, Sydney Pollock, and others. Rare footage shows him swimming with his bodyguards, working in the fields cutting sugar cane, visiting his childhood school and talking with Elian Gonzales, the six-year old boy who became a rallying point for Cuban exiles in Miami.
Turmoil January 14
Is an award-winning documentary giving in depth analysis of the oil production shut-downs that threatened the Chavez government. The oligarchy took a win no matter the cost stance that destabilized the economy and embraced the US administration. Turmoil includes much history, including Chavez’s own 1992 coup attempt, oil politics, and Chavez’ predecessor, Carlos Andres Perez.
The Power of Community: How Cuba Survived Peak Oil February 4
When Cuba lost access to Soviet oil in the early 1990s, the country faced an immediate crisis – feeding the population – and an ongoing challenge: how to create a new low-energy society. Cuba transitioned from large, fossil-fuel intensive farming to small, less energy-intensive organic farms and urban gardens, and from a highly industrial society to a more sustainable one. As the world approaches “peak oil,” Cuba provides a valuable example of how to successfully address the challenge of reducing our energy use.
Venezuela Bolivariana: People And Struggle Of 4th World War March 4
Is as powerful or more as Venezuela Rising, and The Revolution Will Not Be Televised and is more historical, and encompassing. It speaks to the struggles of Venezuela revolution i.e., the Caracozo Riots, Military Rebellion, the Election of Hugo Chavez as President, capitalist devastation, 500 years of Struggle, and the role of The Venezuela Bolivarian Revolution in the Fourth World War.
The Old Man and Jesus: Prophets of Rebellion March 25
This 70 minute documentary examines the lives of two men who live on the streets of Caracas in the middle of the counter-revolutionary offensive that tried to halt the revolutionary process taking place in Venezuela and fueled with the arrival of Hugo Chavez to the presidency. The wise poetry of the Old Man and the explosive verb of Jesus give a direct account of the commitment to liberation that grows from the Venezuelan people, far beyond the influence of leaders or enlightened vanguards. This film is a documentary prophecy of the rebellion that minute-to-minute is silently planned below the bridges and sewages of a world that sooner or later will rise in thirst for justice.
Sponsored by the Chicago Committee to Free the Cuban 5 773-376-7521 uscubachi@hotmail.com
Chicago ALBA Solidarity 