Translated by Otis B Fly-Wheel for Borderland Beat from a Milenio article.
[ Subject Matter: Autodefensas from USA and Mexico
Recommendation: Video is in Spanish and English with English subtitles for the Spanish]
Matthew Heineman lived nine months with Doctor Jose Manuel Mireles to film a documentary that arrives at Mexican cinemas on the 2nd of July.
Two contemporary Justice seekers fight against a common enemy, the Mexican Cartels. South of the Rio Bravo, the Dr Jose Manuel Mireles Valverde, leader of the Michoacán Autodefensas that took up arms against the Knights Templar.
On the other side of the border, in the Arizona desert, the American veteran Tim Nailer Foley, leader of a para military group that the war on drugs is creeping into his territory.
Although they are the protagonists of Cartel Land, a documentary by Matthew Heineman that arrives at Mexican cinemas on 2nd July, this past January it was nominated in the categories of Best Director and Best Photography at the Sundance film festival.
Before taking it like a personal mission to tell this history, Heineman has neither relations with narco trafficking or with Mexico, where before he had only been as a tourist. His previous documentaries were about the Health system in the United States and about North American youths.
The idea for this came about as the Director started to read about the para military groups in Altar Valley, Arizona, the desert corridor known as El Callejon de la Cocaina. Later his father sent him an article on the Michoacán Autodefensas who intended to restore order from chaos and guarantee the security that the Government could not.
"It moved me the image of the citizens fighting against the bad in a land without law, nor Government, nor Police", said Heineman in an interview with Milenio.
At the time I thought that a one or two week stay in Michoacán would suffice for my enquiries. Ultimately, filming on this side of the border was extended intermittently for nine months, where Heineman and his small production team moved in the shadow of Dr Mireles, months before he was detained for possession of weapons and drugs.
Heineman had total access to the life of the AUC, in particular to the group from Tepalcatepec of Dr Mireles.
Their perception of the AUC also underwent a transformation in that time. The U.S. was aware there was such thing as a good side and a bad one. And his obsession with history grew as the line between good and evil began to fade. In his opinion, the film offers no answer, but it presents a story that can be interpreted in different ways.
Heineman is in Mexico to invite people to see closely this life of crime and its consequences, their disorder and the way in which this affect the lives of people. His greatest interest in Cartel Land is to humanize a conflict that has consequences on both sides of the border.
Otis, think this is a must see!
Original article in Spanish at Milenio
[ Subject Matter: Autodefensas from USA and Mexico
Recommendation: Video is in Spanish and English with English subtitles for the Spanish]
Matthew Heineman lived nine months with Doctor Jose Manuel Mireles to film a documentary that arrives at Mexican cinemas on the 2nd of July.
Two contemporary Justice seekers fight against a common enemy, the Mexican Cartels. South of the Rio Bravo, the Dr Jose Manuel Mireles Valverde, leader of the Michoacán Autodefensas that took up arms against the Knights Templar.
On the other side of the border, in the Arizona desert, the American veteran Tim Nailer Foley, leader of a para military group that the war on drugs is creeping into his territory.
Although they are the protagonists of Cartel Land, a documentary by Matthew Heineman that arrives at Mexican cinemas on 2nd July, this past January it was nominated in the categories of Best Director and Best Photography at the Sundance film festival.
Before taking it like a personal mission to tell this history, Heineman has neither relations with narco trafficking or with Mexico, where before he had only been as a tourist. His previous documentaries were about the Health system in the United States and about North American youths.
The idea for this came about as the Director started to read about the para military groups in Altar Valley, Arizona, the desert corridor known as El Callejon de la Cocaina. Later his father sent him an article on the Michoacán Autodefensas who intended to restore order from chaos and guarantee the security that the Government could not.
"It moved me the image of the citizens fighting against the bad in a land without law, nor Government, nor Police", said Heineman in an interview with Milenio.
At the time I thought that a one or two week stay in Michoacán would suffice for my enquiries. Ultimately, filming on this side of the border was extended intermittently for nine months, where Heineman and his small production team moved in the shadow of Dr Mireles, months before he was detained for possession of weapons and drugs.
Heineman had total access to the life of the AUC, in particular to the group from Tepalcatepec of Dr Mireles.
Their perception of the AUC also underwent a transformation in that time. The U.S. was aware there was such thing as a good side and a bad one. And his obsession with history grew as the line between good and evil began to fade. In his opinion, the film offers no answer, but it presents a story that can be interpreted in different ways.
Heineman is in Mexico to invite people to see closely this life of crime and its consequences, their disorder and the way in which this affect the lives of people. His greatest interest in Cartel Land is to humanize a conflict that has consequences on both sides of the border.
Otis, think this is a must see!
Original article in Spanish at Milenio