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The Movie MACHETERO | 2009 World Tour
AWARD WINNING FILM MACHETERO NOMINATED FOR THREE MORE AWARDS ON 2009 WORLD TOUR
TWO NOMINATIONS IN EUROPE AND ONE IN LOS ANGELES
After being nominated for Best Feature Film at the Black Hollywood Film Festival in June and winning Best First Film at the International Film Festival South Africa in October of last year, things continue to develop in positive ways for the highly controversial political film MACHETERO as the film continues on its world tour this year. The film has just been nominated for three more awards at three more festivals. The first nomination is from the Los Angeles British Film Festival for Best International Feature Film. The other two nominations are coming from Europe, the Swansea Bay Film Festival in Wales has nominated MACHETERO for Best American Feature Film and the Heart Of England Film Festival in Tamworth has nominated the film for Best First Feature Film. These three nominations now bring MACHETERO’s current count of awards nominations to five with one win in South Africa.
The film is an exploration into the use of violence as a means towards liberation using the specific example of the island nation of Puerto Rico as springboard to delve into the broader and more complex implications of ongoing struggles against colonialism in general. Following in the footsteps of other anti-colonial films such as Gillo Portecorvo’s BATTLE OF ALGIRES, Ivan Dixon and Sam Greenlee’s THE SPOOK WHO SAT BY THE DOOR, and Melvin Van Peebles SWEET SWEETBACK’S BAD ASSSSS SONG, vagabond’s MACHETERO seems to be finding and building an audience all across the globe. The no budget film stars Issach de Bankolé, (The Keeper, Ghost Dog, Manderlay) Not4Prophet (of the Puerto Punk band RICANSTRUCTION and Hip-Hop group X-VANDALS), Kelvin Fernandez, (in his first starring role) and Dylcia Pagan (who served 20 years in US prisons for trying to free her country, Puerto Rico) and features a completely improvised score by RICANSTRUCTION.
MACHETERO WORLD TOUR SCHEDULE
AFRICA
International Film Festival Egypt (In Cairo)
April 5th – April 10th
NORTH AMERICA
British International Film Festival Los Angeles
May 3rd – May 9th
EUROPE
Swansea International Film Festival (Swansea, Wales)
May 30th – June 6th
Heart Of England Film Festival (Tamworth, England)
June 8th – June 13th
International Film Festival Ireland (Galway, Ireland)
Sept. 8th – Sept 12th
ASIA
International Film Festival Thailand (Phuket)
July 14th – July 19th
MACHETERO
Written, and Directed by vagabond
Starring Isaach de Bankolé, Not4Prophet, Kelvin Fernandez and Dylcia Pagan
Original Songs and Score by RICANSTRUCTION
SYNOPSIS:
Post 9/11 definitions, ideas and notions of terrorism are challenged in this highly controversial and experimental film. Machetero is an allegorical narrative that follows French journalist Jean Dumont, played by Isaach de Bankolé to a New York prison where he interviews Pedro Taino, a so-called "Puerto Rican Terrorist" played by Not4Prophet. Pedro is a self-described Machetero fighting to free Puerto Rico from the yoke of United States colonialism. He is obsessed with freedom, freedom for his country, his people and for himself. Jean questions Pedro about his decisions to use violence as a means to achieve that freedom. Jean utilizes a global perspective in questioning Pedro, referencing examples of achieving his goals through more peaceful means. However Jean soon finds that Pedro is well versed in liberation struggles from around the world and their debate over the use of violence as a catalyst for change escalates.
As Jean and Pedro speak, another story unfolds. A ghetto youth played by Kelvin Fernandez, grows up in the streets doing what he has to do to survive. The ghetto youth crosses paths with Pedro who sees the potential in him. Pedro tries to provide the means for him to grow into the next generation of Machetero by giving him a pamphlet he wrote called the Anti-Manifesto. The ghetto youth reads the Anti-Manifesto and it reawakens a revolutionary spirit instilled in him from childhood by a mentor in Puerto Rico. The ghetto youth develops into a young rebel driven by the cause to liberate his people. As Jean and Pedro’s debate rages on, the cycle of violence that begins in the exploitation and subjugation of imperialism becomes complete in the life of another ghetto youth turned revolutionary.
The structure of Machetero is built around songs from “Liberation Day”, a concept album centered on the liberation struggle of Puerto Rico, written and preformed by RICANSTRUCTION. The songs in the film took on the quality of a narrative voice becoming a modern day Greek chorus. RICANSTRUCTION also provides a completely improvised original score that moves from hardcore be-bop punk to layered haunting and abstract Afro-Rican rhythms.
Machetero is about terrorism and terrorists, how they are defined and by whom. It is a film that asks us to challenge the way in which we view the events that play out in the world. It is a film about the cyclical nature of violence that is perpetuated by those who choose to oppress and those who no longer wish to be oppressed.
art is a weapon,
vagabond
www.machetero-movie.com
www.myspace.com/macheteromovie
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1312208/
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