The War On Democracy by John Pilger

Today, I wanted to observe the OTHER 9/11 .... in 1973, when the U.S. backed coup overthrew the government of Chile. I did not find a good film on that topic alone. But this film reviews all the democracies that were toppled by the U.S. government. Chile begins at minute 47. You can follow this with the Shock Doctrine, and the story of how the "Chicago Boys" showed up with "the Brick" to install free market reforms with Chile's new fascist government. It make me think that if Obama was to really fight for serious reform, the same kind of coup could happen here. 90 min. Download here.

The Take- Occupy, Resist, Produce

This film looks at the aftermath of the economic collapse of Argentina in 2004. It may well be a look into our immediate future in the U.S. This is the inspiring story of unemployed workers occupying and restarting the shut down factories, then fighting to keep them out of the hands of the bosses who ran them to ruin. Filmmakers Avi Lewis and Naomi Klein champion a radical economic manifesto for the 21st century. But what shines through in the film is the simple drama of workers' lives and their struggle: the demand for dignity. 85 min. download here.

Father Roy: Inside the School of Assassins

The coup in Honduras was carried out by officers trained at the infamous "School of the Americas". This is the story of activist priest Father Roy Bourgeois campaigns to close this school. Download here.

The Hour of Furnaces (Hora de los Hornos)

This is a truly “underground” film. Filmed secretly in Argentina in the 1960’s by Grupo Cine Liberation (director: Fernando Solanas), the filmmakers risked prison to produce a revolutionary manifesto. This rarely seen film details the history and methodology of the system of colonial exploitation that has dominated Latin America for 500 years. Today, Latin America leads the struggle against neo-colonial globalization, due in large part, to the revolutionary tradition embodied in this film. Note: unfortunately, the English subtitles in the embedded video cannot be downloaded with this film. 85 min.

The People's Struggle in Oaxaca

Produced by the Mal De Ojo media collective to show
outlying and rural communities what was taking place in Oaxaca City. The mass media corporations constantly misrepresent the popular resistance movement in Oaxaca, often only showing images that only show the government's side of the story. These videos demonstrate the important role that independent, community media plays in countering the misinformation generated by the corrupt government and corporate media giants.
Films include: In the Bicentennial of Juarez: An overview of the popular uprising from June to November of 2006. About the struggle: Reflections on the reasons for popular movement in Oaxaca. Viguera: Federal police take revenge on a neighborhood that blocked their entrance to Oaxaca City. 25 min. Download part1, part2.




Part 2:
The Victory of All Saint's Day- Local people win a seven hour battle against
police attempting to clear barricades around the state university Bradley Will-
In Memorandum: The day of the dead memorial for the indymedia videographer who was killed by government gunmen. 25 min.

Ecuador - The Rumble in the Jungle

Investigative Journalist Greg Palast files this report from the rainforests of Ecuador, where an indigenous tribe is suing Chevron for $12 billion for contaminating the Amazon. He goes to the jungle to see the effects of oil drilling firsthand. He questions oil company lawyers, government officials, tribal activists and others. Finally, Greg Palast gets an exclusive interview with Ecuador's President Rafael Correa. 22 min. Download part1, part2, part3.

Two Bolivias

This is a good study of the changes sweeping South America by Journeyman Pictures. Bolivia’s Indian population has stared to realize their political power with the election of Evo Morales, the first Indian president. Meanwhile, Bolivia's white elite has started a bid for secession from the rest of the nation and say they're ready to fight for it. This is the kind of background story you never see on TV. 23 min. Download here.
Sorry, embedded video has been disabled. See video here.

A Coup: Made In America

Written by Alan Mendelsohn and Nadine Pequeneza, aired on Canadian television's series "Turning Points of History" in 2001. An excellent documentary that details how the CIA arranged the overthrow of the democratic government in Guatemala in 1954 and replaced it with a series of bloody dictatorships. The links between the corporate interests of the United Fruit Company and CIA chief Allen Dulles are clearly shown. This film has never been shown in the U.S. (note: please wait 20 seconds for the video to get started). 45 min. Download here.

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

(a.k.a. Chavez: Inside the Coup) A television crew from Ireland was inside the presidential palace on 11 April 2002 when Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez was deposed and two days later when he returned to power, recording "what was probably history's shortest-lived coup d'état.
The film portrays Chávez's first years as president before the coup, and the support he had among the working class and the poor. But the privately owned media and upper class opposition worked with military and big business to create an anti-Chávez climate leading to the day of the coup. The film recorded images of the events that contradict the private media and the U.S. State Department, and shows evidence that the coup was a conspiracy between anti-Chávez factions and the U.S. government.
A powerful documentary and a political thriller, this film had a successful theatrical run in the U.S. but has never been released on DVD, or shown on TV. Fullscreen here. Download.