Maestra (2012)
- Directed by
- Catherine Murphy
- Genre
- documentary film, biographical film, historical film
- Country
- United States
- Runtime
- 34 min
- Elsewhere
- IMDb
The catalogue in 3D
The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.
How it feels
This documentary tells the story of the young women who volunteered as teachers during Cuba's 1961 literacy campaign. Through interviews and narration, it shares their experiences and the lasting impact of their work.
inspiringnostalgicreflectiveearnestgroundedpoignantupliftinghistoric
What happens
Maestra is a short documentary film directed by Catherine Murphy, about the youngest women teachers of the 1961 Cuban Literacy Campaign. In 1961, Cuba aimed to eradicate illiteracy in one year. It sent 250,000 volunteers across the island to teach reading and writing in rural communities for one year. 100,000 of the volunteers were under 18 and more than half of them were women. In 2004, Murphy discovered that she knew several women in Havana who had volunteered for the project; they were in their 60s. Murphy was due to return to the United States, but before doing so, she decided to record three interviews with former Literacy Campaign volunteers. From 2004 to 2010, Murphy continued to track down stories of Literacy Campaign volunteers and the families that hosted them, eventually producing and directing Maestra and founding The Literacy Project. The film is narrated in English by Pulitzer Prize–winning author Alice Walker and features Spanish-language interviews (with English subtitles) with nine of the women who taught in the Campaign. Maestra features interviews with Norma Guillard, one of the first Cuban women to call herself a feminist, and Diana Balboa, one of the first open members of Cuba's LGBT community and an international advocate for gay and lesbian rights. Both were 15 years old at the time of the campaign. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)
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Americans All (1963)- More like this film, on a shelf you can walk up to.It's the lit case on the top shelf.