[Imc] interesting Film Series

[jacobs at uiuc.edu]

Hi all, I'm forwarding the announcement of an interesting film series called documenting development.  I hope folks can make it.

James Jacobs
Radical Librarian

: Documenting Development: An International Documentary Film Series
: 
: International Studies Building
: Room 101
: 910 South Fifth Street
: Champaign
: 
: 12:00 noon - 12:50 p.m.
: 
: The attached flyer contains the complete schedule of the series. 
: 
: Films in this series with Latin American content are:
: 
: Thursday , February 7 "From the Mountains to the Maquiladoras"
: (1991, 25 min.) A look at the implications of NAFTA for working 
: people in th U.S. and Mexico. Nine women laid off from their jobs in 
: Tennessee decided to visit the maquiladoras in Mexico, looking into 
: the practices of U.S. companies like General Motors , Converse, Levi, 
: and General Electric. They visit with the Borders Committee for Women 
: Workers in Mexico. Examines repressive labor practices by the 
: companies and the horrendous areas in which many workers are forced 
: to live as well as the implications for employee health of the lack 
: of any environmental regulations. Professor Alejandro Lugo, 
: Department of Anthropology, will be the discussant.
: 
: Thursday , February 14 "Love, Women, and Flowers"
: (1998, 58 min.) Celebrate Valentine's Day with a critical look at the 
: human cost behind carnations. This presentation of the structure of 
: the global flower industry shows the sickness and hardship suffered 
: by the women workers in Colombia who raise and pick carnations that 
: are exported for sweethearts around the world. Against a backdrop of 
: the vast fields where the flowers are grown for export, workers 
: testify about the impact that caring for the flowers has had on their 
: health. They claim that their lives should be as important as the 
: welfare of the flowers. Touches a bit on other social and family 
: issues that also shape the lives of these women. Ends with a 
: short-lived but inspiring strike by the flower workers who come 
: together to stand up for themselves. Best for viewers who are already 
: sympathetic to the plight of third world workers. Good footage, but 
: difficult for English audiences to follow because the film is in 
: Spanish with subtitles throughout. But does provide a window on a 
: part of the global economy with which few are familiar. Provides a 
: new perspective for the next time you walk into a florist shop.
: 
: Wednesday, February 20 "Banking on Life and Debt"
: (1995, 30 min.) Demonstrates how millions of children are sacrificed 
: for the sake of financial stability. Traces the post-World War II 
: change which led to the current world economic order. Examines the 
: role of the World Bank. Viewers travel to Ghana, Brazil, and the 
: Philippines for reports.
: 
: Thursday, March 7 "Hell to Pay"
: (1998, 52 min.) A moving and politically sophisticated analysis of 
: the international debt situation through the eyes of the women of 
: Bolivia, the poorest country in Latin America. Although most directly 
: affected by government austerity programs, peasant women are assumed 
: not to understand the workings of international capital and foreign 
: policy. Hell to Pay poignantly contradicts such assumptions as 
: teachers, textile workers and miners' wives speak vividly and with 
: great comprehension of the causes of the debt crisis and the burden 
: they are forced to bear.
: 
: Monday, March 11 "Who's Counting? Marilyn Waring on Sex, Lies, and 
: Global Economics"
: (1995, 52 min.) GDP has no negative side to its accounts-such as 
: damage to the environment-and completely ignores the unpaid work of 
: women. This film offers ideas for human-scale economic alternatives, 
: local currency exchanges, and more humane ways of measuring the 
: quality of life. This film does not look at women in Latin America 
: and the Caribbean, but the argument in this film may be applied to 
: the women and economies of this region of the world. "Who's 
: Counting?" complements "Hell to Pay" nicely.
: 
: Sponsored by the Asian Educational Media Service, the Center for 
: African Studies, the Russian and East European Center, the Center for 
: Latin American and Caribbean Studies, and the Women and Gender in 
: Global Perspectives Program.
: -------------------------
: 
: Nan Volinsky
: Academic Programs and Outreach Coordinator
: Center for Latin American & Caribbean Studies
: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
: 201 International Studies Building
: 910 South Fifth Street
: Champaign, IL 61820  MC-481
: my office: 206 International Studies Building
: my phone:	217-333-8419
: fax:	217-244-7333
: e-mail: nvolinsk at staff.uiuc.edu
: web:	<http://www.uiuc.edu/unit/lat>