Latin America is home to many different cultures and there are some documentaries that highlight the various aspects of the region.

Take a look at these documentaries if you want to find out more.

War on Democracy

"The War On Democracy" was John Pilger's first for cinema.

Released in 2007, it explored the relationship of Washington with Latin American countries Venezuela, Bolivia, and Chile.

It also talked about interventions in Latin American politics during the last 50 years, leading up to people's struggle against racism and poverty.

It featured archive footage from archivist Carl Deal, who worked with award-winning documentary filmmaker Michael Moore.

The documentary unfolds the real story behind the attempt to overthrow Venezuela's President Hugo Chávez in 2002 and the power of the barrio people to make him come up to power.

The movie received an IMDB rating of 8.2/10.

Argentina's Economic Collapse

Many people visit Argentina without any knowledge of the country's history of economic instability.

In a country so rich, people might question how people suffer from hunger.

"Argentina's Economic Collapse" looks at the country's economic history, the groups that it affected the most, and how it was "fixed."

This documentary gives an introduction on the economics of Argentina and its relationship with foreign debt.

To give a gist on the history of debt, generations of technocrats and bureaucrats had risen, favoring international corporations instead of their own country.

The Battle of Chile

"The Battle of Chile" is a documentary series of three parts: The Insurrection of the Bourgeoisie (1975), The Coup d'état (1976), and Popular Power (1979).

It chronicles the political tension that rose in Chile in 1973 and the open and peaceful socialist revolution against the government of Salvador Allende for the first installment.

The second film takes place during the Chilean Coup d'état in 1973. The film's closing sequence documents Allende's last radio messages to Chileans, the coup d'etat, military assault in the presidential palace, and the televised presentation of the new military junta.

The last film documented the creation of many local groups of "popular power" by ordinary people.

Judy Stone of San Francisco Chronicle called it "a landmark in the presentation of living history in film".

It was directed by Chilean Patricio Guzmán who, along with five colleagues, filmed the political developments in their country for nine months.

It premiered at Cannes Film Festival and won eight Grand Prize awards at other international festivals.

The three documentaries have ratings ranging from 7.9 to 8.2 out of 10 stars on IMDB.

The Prisoner of the Iron Bars (O Prisionero da Grande de Ferro)

A year after the notorious detention house of Carandiru Prison was closed down for good in 2002, "The Prisoner of the Iron Bars" looked at the biggest and most infamous penitentiary in Latin America.

The prison had seen many uprisings and bloodshed.

The film resulted from giving prisoners video cameras to record their everyday life. It confronts the reality faced by the prison in its finals months.

It captures the prisoners talking to each other, trying to whisper a dream of all the excluded to cross the other side of the wall.


Want to read more? Check out these related articles!