PRESS RELEASE
4/13/99
"Zapatista," the Film, To Be Presented in Geneva Today
by International Educational Development/Humanitarian Law Project
This "... provocative, hip, graphic expose of an inspiring human
struggle," (Andrew Davis, director of The Fugitive) will be screened in
Geneva today by International Educational Development/Humanitarian Law
Project in Geneva at 3 PM local time. It will be presented in Room XXI.
IED/HLP is in Geneva for the presentation of a statement to the
United Nations Commission on Human Rights concerning the case of American
political prisoner, Mumia Abu-Jamal, who is currently on death row, and
other humanitarian issues. The statement was read to a full session of the
UN Commission on Human Rights by Zack de la Rocha, of "Rage Against the
Machine."
"Zapatista" includes interviews with Subcomandante Marcos, Noam
Chomsky, Comandamtes David, Tacho and Zebedeo, Javier Elorriaga, Zack de la
Rocha and Karen Parker of HLP. Narrators include Edward James Olmos,
Darryl Hannah, Mumia Abu-Jamal and Geronimo Pratt. The soundtrack includes
Rage Against the Machine, Neil Young, Ozomatli, Peanut Butter Wolf, DJ
Vadim and the Herbaliser and Silvio Rodriguez.
It was produced by Big Noise films, which was formed in the summer
of 1996 when three students, armed with state-of-the-art digital cameras,
went to Chiapas to create a documentary about the Mayan Indians of Mexico
and their struggle
for survival, rooted in over 500 years of resistance. Filmed behind
Zapatista lines, this is an account of a guerrilla struggle unlike any
other. A cast of rebel leaders, celebrity narrators, and North American
activists combine with high-impact footage to reveal the heart of this
ancient resistance and its relationship to today's global economy.
The Humanitarian Law project is a non-governmental organization, with
consultative status at the United Nations. Their long-term objectives are
to strengthen human rights standards ratified by nations around the globe.