Cuban Film Festival: Tierralismo
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A close look at a cooperative urban farm based on organic practices that arose out of necessity following the collapse of the Soviet Union and easy access to chemicals and machinery.

On the outskirts of Havana, sandwiched between highways and public housing, a revolution is taking place. Here, in the district of Alamar, a 26-acre farming co-op provides employment for dozens of workers, while producing vegetables and medicinal plants for the local community and beyond. Following the collapse of the Soviet Bloc in the early 1990s, Cuba was no longer able to access machinery and agricultural chemicals from its former Communist allies. In this difficult environment, the government relaxed economic rules and allowed the formation of cooperatives - like the Organopónico Vivero Alamar.

Lovingly shot, Tierralismo offers not only an in-depth portrait of the Organopónico Vivero Alamar, but also a stirring defence of the importance of farm work, and of sustainable farming practices.

Screening with:

Chernóbil en Nosotros
Directed by: Daisy Gómez
2006, 50 min, Documentary, Cuba
English title: Chernobyl in Us

20 years after the nuclear disaster in Chernobyl, Cuban television aired this film commemorating the medical campaign that brought 23,000 radiation damaged children to Cuba for medical care.

Curated and presented by the Minnesota Cuba Committee.

Films are in Spanish with English subtitles and most are accompanied by a short feature. Discussions will take place following the films.