Documentaries

Land across great swathes of the developing world has become a prime target for foreign investors. This affects communities living off the land and those throughout the region. Feeding the growing global population is one of the greatest challenges of the coming decades and how land is used is at the core of the debate. The divide between the haves and the have-nots is growing.  Each night nearly one billion people go to bed hungry while over a billion are substantially over fed, according to the UK government’s office for science.

Last summer, 200 US marines arrived in Guatemala to disrupt the operations drug traffickers on the pacific coast. President Otto Perez Molina, inaugurated in 2012, is a retired general who rose to become head of intelligence of the Guatemalan Army. He’s talked about de-criminalizing drugs at international forums, and embraced the militarization of drug trafficking domestically. During his term, Perez Molina promised improve security by cracking down on crime, and to promote development through energy projects and the extractive industries.

Over the last few years, Europe has experienced a severe financial crisis, with countries like Greece and Spain facing skyrocketing debt and unemployment. More than a decade ago, a similar situation was unfolding in Argentina. In 2001, the country suffered a debilitating economic crisis and, as a result, defaulted on its foreign debt and stopped pegging the Argentine peso to the U.S. dollar.  When the peso to dollar conversion jumped suddenly to three to one, many Argentines lost two-thirds of their savings overnight.

• A call to action, and protests quickly spread
• Activists gather in Philadelphia to plan next steps in Occupy movement
• As encampments multiply, authorities use police action and legislation to crack down on dissent
• In diverse New York, people of color play key role in shaping Occupy movement
• Indigenous communities offer alternatives, and critique, of Occupy
• In Hawaii, long-running encampment draws on native law for protection of protest

In the US, the historic struggle for quality education continues to unfold as America’s public schools have become the center of an intense debate. Much of that has focused on deciding what to do with schools that are struggling.  Should they be privatized? Should there be greater accountability? More funding or more local involvement?

The so-called Drug War has drastically altered life in Mexico. More than 40,000 people have been killed since President Felipe Calderon launched a military offensive in December 2006 against the country's powerful organized crime groups. Drug war-related violence has become increasingly brutal - and public. Criminals have diversified their income through activities like extortion and kidnapping. The military has taken over civilian law enforcement in many parts of the country. At least a quarter million people have been displaced.