GRANITO DE ARENA
For over 20 years, global economic forces have been dismantling public education in Mexico, but always in the constant shadow of popular resistance...
Granito de Arena (Little Grain of Sand) is the story of that resistance – the story of hundreds of thousands of public schoolteachers whose grassroots, non-violent movement took Mexico by surprise, and who have endured brutal repression in their 25-year struggle for social and economic justice in Mexico's public schools.
Completed in 2005, Granito de Arena provides context and background to the unprecedented popular uprising that exploded in Oaxaca, Mexico, in 2006. It serves as an excellent prequel to Corrugated Film's Un Poquito de Tanta Verdad.
Award-winning Seattle filmmaker, Jill Freidberg, spent two years in southern Mexico documenting the efforts of over 100,000 teachers, parents, and students fighting to defend the country’s public education system from the devastating impacts of economic globalization. Freidberg combines footage of strikes and direct actions with 25 years worth of never-before-seen archival images to deliver a compelling and unsettling story of resistance, repression, commitment, and solidarity.
“A must see for teachers and educators around the globe.”
“Important...disturbing...a film that views education from below, from the classroom and the community,
from the rank-and-file and the grassroots of both rural and urban Mexico.
All of those concerned about issues of education, human rights, labor unions,
Latin America and globalization will want to see this inspiring film.”
“This documentary is essential for understanding the public education crisis in Latin America. It bears witness to teachers’ struggles against the pedagogy of exclusion generated by neoliberal policy. Jill Freidberg’s narrative is resounding and overwhelming. The film is a cry of outrage; the message, a cry of hope.”
“Exciting, inspiring. An extraordinary account of ordinary people organizing, protesting, resisting, against enormous odds. Shows a grass-roots movement of teachers, parents, and students in Mexico, defying the police and the government in their demands for a truly democratic education. What becomes clear as you watch this film is the pernicious effect of globalization and privatization on the education of children.”
Nominated for the 2005 Pare Lorentz Award
International Documentary Association
Best Documentary
Tres Continentes International Documentary Festival 2005
Caracas, Venezuela
John Michaels Award
Big Muddy Film Festival 2006
Honorable Mention
International Documentary Festival 2006
Santiago de Cuba, Cuba