
WEDNESDAY, MAY 30
Movie Screening: "La Segunda Conquista"
An independent documentary filmed in Patagonia, Argentina by Denali DeGraf '03 and Joao Dujon Pereira
Post-screening discussion with co-director Denali DeGraf '03
Date: Wednesday, May 30 Time: 6:00 - 8:00 PMLocation: Bolivar House (582 Alvarado Row) http://www.stanford.edu/hpcgi/map/index.pl?q=bolivar%20house&sf=a.BLDG_NAME%3EBolivarHouse
Synopsis:
As land values in Patagonia, Argentina have skyrocketed in recent years, large corporations and wealthy individuals (from within Argentina as well as from overseas, such as Ted Turner, Sylvester Stallone, the Benetton family, or Joe "Hard Rock Cafe" Lewis) have been appropriating enormous tracts of land at the expense of those who have lived there for decades or centuries. Through threatened or real violence, fraudulent paperwork, and loopholes in the legal system, territory is transferred from those who inhabit it and work it as an integral part of their lives to gigantic, profit-making, feudal kingdoms. From high-end tourism to extremely destructive mining and forestry practices, land is being plundered for the benefit of a few and at the cost of those who have always stewarded it. This film documents and analyzes the growing land conflicts in Patagonia (similar to so many other parts of Argentina and the rest of Latin America) through the voices of its original inhabitants and commentary by other locals involved in the issue. By presenting a few particular cases, the film discusses the methods, motives, and consequences of these massive appropriations of territory and chronicles the resistance of indigenous communities, local citizens' assemblies, and individual families, in the face of adversity. 68 min, Spanish, with English subtitles.