Chiapas Solidarity University Tour 2000

 The Mexico Solidarity Network is sponsoring a Chiapas Solidarity campus tour featuring the award-winning film "A Place Called Chiapas."  The film is an intimate, in-depth look at the indigenous struggle for dignity, economic justice and autonomy in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas. In 1999 the Network toured with the film to great success in first run theaters. More than 50,000 people saw the film, and we raised over $100,000 for relief aid for 20,000 refugees left homeless by the conflict. In the year 2000, we continue this work by coordinating with student groups, student activities directors and university faculty to create the opportunity for dialogue around Chiapas and US-Mexico relations. 

 On each campus we visit we will:

•  Screen “A Place Called Chiapas,” a 90-minute documentary which won the 1999 Genie Award (equivalent to the American “Academy” awards) for best Canadian Documentary. The film is a balanced, in-depth look at the Zapatista indigenous uprising for democracy, indigenous rights, and economic justice in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas.

• Provide a Network-affiliated human rights worker with experience in Chiapas to lead an after film discussion on the major issues that face indigenous communities in Chiapas and the rest of Mexico’s 20 million indigenous people. The speaker will discuss key points in Mexico-US relations including NAFTA/trade policy, immigration, drug control, the border region, indigenous rights and labor organizing.

• Provide a videotape copy of the film for the sponsoring academic institution. This copy would include unlimited screening rights at the university as granted by the distributor.