Chicano Documentaries and The Mexican American Experience
Documentaries about Chicanos and The Mexican American Experience
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- DirectorGilbert GonzalezVivian PriceAdrian SalinasHidden within the historical accounts of minorities, workers and immigrants in American society is the story of the millions of Mexico's men and women who experienced the temporary contract worker program known as the Bracero Program. Established to replace an alleged wartime labor shortage, research reveals that the Program intended to undermine farm worker unionization. Harvest shows how several million men, in one of the largest state managed migrations in history, were imported from 1942 to 1964 to work as cheap, controlled and disposable workers. The documentary features the men and women speaking of their experiences and addresses what to expect from a new temporary contract worker program. The politics of the Bracero Program laid the foundation for Mexican workers to follow the path to the US. NAFTA further impoverished the farmers of Mexico, and another generation of Mexicans and Mexican Americans demand a just immigration policy. The film is profoundly relevant to deconstructing anti-immigrant policies, lending a historical explanation to the contemporary issues of immigration in the US and global debates on migration.
- DirectorLuis ValdezStarsLuis ValdezThis short film is based on the poem by the same title published by Rodolfo "Corky" Gonzales in 1967.
- DirectorJon WilkmanStarsEdward James OlmosDocumentary telling the story of generations of young Mexican-Americans who proudly expressed their identity through music.
- StarsCesar ChavezHenry CisnerosLand, labor, educational reform, and political empowerment are the four themes of this documentary regarding the Mexican American civil rights movement from 1965 to 1975.
- DirectorAlberto DomínguezSusan RachoNancy De Los Santos-RezaStarsBenicio Del ToroAnthony QuinnDolores Del RíoDocumentary about the presence of Latin American culture and actors in American movies.
- DirectorDamian ChapaStarsDamian ChapaA Personal Documentary by Damian Chapa star of Blood in Blood out.
- DirectorRichard Ray PerezLorena ParleeStarsCesar ChavezChris HartmireArturo RodriguezIn 1988, Cesar Chavez embarked on what would be his last act of protest in his remarkable life. Driven in part to pay penance for feeling he had not done enough, Chavez began his "Fast for Life," a 36-day water-only hunger strike, to draw attention to the horrific effects of unfettered pesticide use on farm workers, their families, and their communities. Using never-before-seen footage of Chavez during his fast and testimony from those closest to him, directors Richard Ray Perez and Lorena Parlee weave together the larger story of Chavez's life, vision, and legacy. A deeply religious man, Chavez's moral clarity in organizing and standing with farmworkers at risk of his own life humbled his family, friends, and the world.
- DirectorPeter BrattStarsDolores HuertaMartin Luther KingLuis ValdezIn the 1950's, a working-class wife and mother of eleven children helps to establish a farmer's union, which later develops into a platform for feminism and gender equality.