Cuba and the corporate world, March 2, 2007

Global Justice films
Fidel: the Untold Story
Mon, Mar 5, 3pm
The Corporation
Thurs, Mar 8, 3pm
Teatro Santa Ana
50 pesos

This week the Center for Global Justice Snowbird Symposium presents two films: Fidel: The Untold Story and The Corporation.

Fidel Castro has outlived 9 US presidents, foiled numerous assassination attempts and single-handedly defied the most powerful, militaristic nation on the planet for nearly half a century. This remarkable documentary examines the life of the Cuban leader beginning with his childhood as one of seven children of a sugar planter.

Fidel: The Untold Story (91 minutes), directed by Estela Bravo, covers 40 years of the Cuban revolution and is unprecedented in providing its viewers with an understanding of Cuba and its leader. Bravo uses exclusive archival footage and a remarkable mix of interviews with Fidel and such luminaries as Harry Belafonte, Aleida Guevera (Che’s daughter), Alice Walker, Ramsey Clark, Sydney Pollack, Angela Davis and longtime friend of Castro, Nobel Prize-winning writer Gabriel García Marquez. Whether dismissed as a relic, or revered as a savior, many agree that Fidel Castro is one of the most influential, controversial figures of our time.

The Corporation (147 minutes) is a provocative, witty and sweepingly informative documentary that breaks down the concept of ‘corporation’ using humor, factoids and interviews from an impressive panel that includes commentators such as Howard Zinn, Milton Friedman, Michael Moore, Naomi Klein, Noam Chomsky and CEOs from some of the world’s biggest companies. The film traces the history of corporations and reveals how they have managed to arrive at a place where they may be compared to a psychopath. We learn that the corporation is a legal entity with the same rights as a human being under the present law. Unlike an actual human, however, who has to answer to the people around him, the corporation is only accountable to its bottom line.

Co-directed by Mark Achbar and Jennifer Abbott, The Corporation was made in Canada in 2001 and has won 26 international awards, including the Audience Choice Award at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival.







Bioneers winter film series

Bioneers winter film series Nina Simons film Terry Tempest Williams film Tues, Mar 6, 3–4pm Teatro Santa Ana 50 pesos

Bioneers is an annual gathering of some of the most exciting “sustainable future” visionaries that the world knows. Some 100+ creative thinkers, intelligent tinkerers, bold pioneers and a band of 3,000 ardent supporters, gather to share the “real news” of Hope for a viable future. 


In honor of International Women’s Day, the first two Tuesdays in March feature films of women speakers from the Bioneers Conference. On Tuesday, March 6, Bioneers co-founder, Nina Simons, speaks of the urgent task of working for a sustainable future. Eloquent, poignant, and deeply personal, Simons’ talk strikes deep chords in all of us. Simons has co-produced the Bioneers Conference since 1990. She speaks and teaches internationally about women’s leadership, cultivating relational intelligence, and organizations as living systems.

The second film features author and activist, Terry Tempest Williams. Williams is one of the nation’s most celebrated writers and is well-known as an active voice on behalf of social and environmental issues. Author of Refuge, Leap, Red: Passion and Patience in the Desert and The Open Space of Democracy, she is a recipient of both Guggenheim and Lannan Literary Fellowships. In this film she speaks about the state of our democracy and its centrality in restoring our Earth.

These two engaging films are shown on Tuesday, March 6, 3–4pm, at Teatro Santa Ana, and are followed by an optional conversation café. Cost is 50 pesos.