[lbo-talk] Haunted Land (Dir. Mary Ellen Davis)

[Yoshie Furuhashi]

*****   Haunted Land

Canada-Guatemala 2001, 74 minutes

Two paths cross on a descent into Guatemala's past: that of Mateo 
Pablo, Maya survivor of one of many massacres that took place during 
the country's recent civil war, and Daniel Hernández-Salazar, 
Guatemalan artist and photographer whose work grapples with local 
human rights violations.

Dos destinos se cruzan en el sendero de la memoria histórica de 
Guatemala: Mateo Pablo, sobreviviente maya de una de las numerosas 
masacres perpetuadas durante la reciente guerra civil, y Daniel 
Hernández-Salazar; artista y fotógrafo guatemalteco cuyas obras 
escrutan y denuncian las violaciones de los derechos humanos.

Together they travel to a remote site in the highlands where the 
community of Petanac once stood. Mateo grew up and lived there until 
1982, when his family and neighbours were tortured and murdered by 
the Guatemalan army, whose soldiers later burned Petanac to the 
ground.

Viajando juntos por el altiplano, visitan el lugar que había ocupado 
la comunidad maya de Petanac. En ese lugar experimentó un vuelco la 
vida de Mateo, cuando en 1982 el ejército guatemalteco torturó y 
asesinó a su familia y a sus vecinos dejando el pueblo reducido a 
cenizas.

Today, nothing has been forgotten. At Petanac and other Maya 
communities across Guatemala survivors gather to bear witness as 
forensic experts unearth the mass graves of their loved ones. The 
bones found in clandestine cemeteries tell their own mute story of 
agony and terror, once the dirt and dust have been patiently removed 
by teams of archaeologists. A story far removed from the treasures of 
ancient Maya culture.

Sin embargo, la memoria persiste. En las comunidades mayas los 
sobrevivientes de las masacres se reúnen alrededor de las fosas 
cavadas por los equipos forenses; los arqueólogos desentierran 
pacientemente los huesos de los desaparecidos en lugar de tesoros de 
la antigua cultura maya. Una vez descubiertas, las osamentas cuentan 
su propia historia muda de agonía y de terror.

"A moving work, and a great testimony to break the silence about the 
genocide in Guatemala."
- Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Nobel Peace Prize winner

"Una conmovedora obra, y un gran testimonio para seguir rompiendo el 
silencio sobre el genocidio en Guatemala."
- Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Premio Nobel de la Paz

Avec la participation de Mateo Pablo, Daniel Hernández-Salazar,
Gabriela Santos, Sarah Baillargeon, les survivants de Petanac,
PAQG, ODHA, FAFG et FAMDEGUA
image Guillermo Escalón - son Cristobal Urbina
oeuvres photographiques Daniel Hernández-Salazar
montage Sol Millán, Mary Ellen Davis - montage sonore Paul Gauthier
musique originale Stephen de Oliveira
archives Lancerio Lopez (ODHA), José Vásquez, Sergio Alfaro, Carlos 
Martínez Suárez
Productions B'alba en coproduction avec PRIM (bourse documentaire 
d'auteur à risque PRIM)
Avec le soutien de: ACDI, FCFVI, CALQ , SODEC.

Premio Lanza de Amaru Siona 2001, IV Festival de la Serpiente, Quito, Ecuador
Festival Abya Yala des Premiers Peuples des Amériques, organisé par la CONAIE
Honorable Mention, Alucine Toronto Latino Film & Video Festival, Dec. 2002
L.A.S.A. Award of Merit in Film 2002 Latin American Studies Association, U.S.A.

Festivals: Quito/Équateur, Kerala/Inde, Mediawave/Hongrie, 
Documentalistas/Argentine, Mexique, Montevideo/Uruguay, 
Durban/Afrique du Sud, Las Americas/Texas, Cine-Accion/Californie, 
Chicago Latino Film Festival, Alucine/Toronto

Contact us:
Productions B'alba
5704 rue St-Urbain
Montréal, Québec
H2T 2X3 Canada

Phone or fax: (514) 270-7983
E-mail: medavis at sympatico.ca
www3.sympatico.ca/medavis

<http://www3.sympatico.ca/medavis/ehaunted.htm>   *****

*****   Tierra Madre

Canada-Guatemala 1996, 54 minutes

In Guatemala, property ownership is restricted to a very few: most 
peasants, including the Mayas, possess no land. In a country dragged 
down by war, many people endlessly seek a patch of land. This is what 
the eloquent examples of Sacred Earth so touchingly reveal.

Despite arrests, threats and destruction of their harvest, a Q'eqchi 
community defends its ancestral rights on the property of an 
agricultural exporter. Elsewhere, when Q'eqchi peasants claim wages 
or a few acres of earth, they're accused of being guerrillas. In 
1982, the army massacred eight hundred peasants - men, women and 
children - who had arrived four years earlier to found a village. The 
story of "Las Dos Erres" is narrated by neighbours and survivors...

In the face of these terrible injustices, these tragedies, the people 
continue to celebrate life through their music, dance, ceremonies and 
religious offerings. Will hope triumph over violence? Sacred Earth 
tells of courage and of faith, within the quest for peace.

image Guillermo Escalon - son Mark Sherman, Haroldo Martinez
montage Katharine Asals - musique traditionnelle de Alta Verapaz
avec la participation de Misioneros de la Preciosa Sangre, Pastoral 
social de la Diocesis de Alta Verapaz, Famdegua, ODHA, CONIC, CONDEG
Productions B'alba. Avec le soutien de: Conseil des arts du Canada, 
Téléfilm Canada, FCFVI, ONF (programme PAFPS), CECI, Développement et 
paix, Université Concordia, Grand conseil des Cris, Vision TV, 
Knowledge Network.

Prix de la qualité du témoignage 96,

5e Festival americano de cine y video de los Pueblos Indigenas, Santa 
Cruz, Bolivie

Prix Medianet 96, Festival de Munich, Allemagne

Contact us :
Productions B'alba
5704 rue St-Urbain
Montréal, Québec
H2T 2X3 Canada

Phone or fax: (514) 270-7983
E-mail: medavis at sympatico.ca
www3.sympatico.ca/medavis

<http://www3.sympatico.ca/medavis/etierra.htm>   *****

*****   The Devil's Dream

Canada-Guatemala 1992, 68 minutes
(English version: available as 68 minutes or shorter version 58 minutes)
(versión con subtítulos españoles: 68 minutos)

The folkloric Dance of the 24 Devils sheds new light on the reality 
of Guatemala. The Devils reveal a strong antagonism, both 
contemporary and mythological: they've declared war on humanity and 
have set out "to capture all souls", while Death heralds the end of 
mankind!

La danza folklórica de "Los 24 Diablos" ofrece una nueva perspectiva 
de la realidad guatemalteca. El baile nos permite descubrir un 
antagonismo a la vez mitológico y contemporáneo: los demonios 
declaran la guerra a la humanidad capturando almas. ¡La Muerte ha 
decretado el fin del género humano!

Combining lyricism, realism and irony, The Devil's Dream explores the 
soul of this paradoxical country. We discover not only the beauty of 
the landscape, the people and their creative imagination, but also 
the wretched conditions of life, the spectre of violence, and a 
pervasive sense of the absurd.

Con lirismo, realismo e ironía, el film explora el universo 
paradójico de Guatemala: sus habitantes y su riqueza cultural, la 
belleza de los paisajes, las ingratas condiciones de vida, el 
espectro de la violencia y una creciente sensación de absurdo.

Guatemala is a society split between native and non-native, rich and 
poor, civil and military. Native people pick cotton for two dollars a 
day, their children work for half that amount. Those who dare to 
protest risk their lives. In this documentary, the people tell the 
story in their own words.

Guatemala es un país dividido entre ricos y pobres, indígenas y 
blancos, civiles y militares. En las plantaciones de algodón los 
indígenas reciben como pago dos dólares diarios y sus niños menos de 
la mitad de ese salario. Atreverse a protestar es arriesgar la vida. 
El film Las Quimeras del Diablo da la palabra a los guatemaltecos.

avec la participation de "La légion des 24 Diables"
image Guillermo Escalón - son Javier Leal, Mark Sherman
montage Fernand Bélanger, Mary Ellen Davis - montage sonore Paul Gauthier
musique traditionnelle du Guatemala - archives vidéo 88-90 du Guatemala
production Adam Symansky, Carmen Garcia, Mary Ellen Davis
Productions du Système D en co-prod. avec l'Office national du film
Avec le soutien de: Conseil des arts du Canada, Téléfilm Canada, TV5, 
Vision TV, TV Ontario La Chaîne, Knowledge Network, CKVR.

Grand Prix du Jury 1993, Festival cinéma et monde rural, France
Silver Apple 1993, National Educational Film & Video Festival, U.S.A.
L.A.S.A. Award of Merit in Film 1992 (Latin American Studies 
Association, U.S.A.)

Festivals: France, United States, Great-Britain, Spain, Cuba, Portugal

Contact us :
Productions B'alba
5704 rue St-Urbain
Montréal, Québec
H2T 2X3 Canada

Phone or fax: (514) 270-7983
E-mail: medavis at sympatico.ca
www3.sympatico.ca/medavis

<http://www3.sympatico.ca/medavis/edream.htm>   *****
-- 
Yoshie

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