Synopsis:
As a young filmmaker in 1982,
Pamela Yates went to Guatemala to document the "hidden war" the government conducted against its own Mayan people.
When the Mountains Trembled, the powerful film that resulted, featured 22-year-old Mayan human rights defender and future Nobel Peace Laureate Rigoberta Menchú. Thirty years later, Yates wanted to help bring some of the principals in the hidden genocide to trial by searching her old reels for footage that could be evidence against them. Part political thriller, part memoir, Granito depicts a riveting, haunting tale of genocide with a cast of characters that includes a courageous forensic anthropologist exhuming remains of the disappeared and an archival researcher uncovering damning documents in government archives. "The film is gripping," says About.com's Jennifer Merin. "It is in itself evidence of the importance of filmmaking. If you think films can't change the world, see this film and think again."
Official Selection, Sundance Film Festival, 2011
Peace & Reconciliation Prize in Honor of Sergio Vieira de Mello, Geneva Human Rights Festival, 2011
Grand Prix Best Creative Documentary, Paris International Human Rights Film Festival, 2011
Jury Grand Prize, 2011, Politics on Film Festival
Screenings at Landmark's E Street Cinema
Thursday, April 19 at 6:30 pm
Saturday, April 21 at 6:30 pm
555 11th Street, NW
Join WOLA on April 19 for a post-screening discussion with director Pamela Yates, producer Paco de Onis, and forensic anthropologist Fredy Peccerelli, WOLA's 2006 Human Rights Award Recipient.
About Filmfest DC
This year Filmfest DC has many exciting movies related to Latin America that show the diversity, the complexity, and the pleasure of Latin American life today. They entertain us and move us beyond stereotypes. The list of films about Latin America can be found below. A full list of the films screening this year at Filmfest DC can be found here.
Argentina
The Cat Vanishes – Argentina
Chinese Take-Away – Argentina
The Finger – Argentina
Brazil
Elite Squad: The Enemy Within – Brazil
Found Memories – Brazil/Argentina/France
Neighboring Sounds – Brazil
Caribbean
Better Mus' Come – Jamaica
Calypso Rose: The Lioness of the Jungle – Trinidad and Tobago
The First Rasta – France/Jamaica
Jean Gentil – Dominican Republic/Mexico/Germany
Marley – United Kingdom
RasTa: A Soul's Journey – United Kingdom
Cuba
Havana Eva – Cuba/Venezuela/France
Unfinished Space – Cuba/USA
Nicaragua
Big Boys Gone Bananas!* – Sweden
