Beauty of the Fight
Directed by: John Urbano - 69 min. - Panama
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The documentary Beauty of the Fight explores, with both intimate and exhilarating imagery, the effects of historic realities on two Panama barrios. Barraza and El Chorrillo suffered heavy losses when US forces invaded in 1989 in order to capture General Manuel Noriega.

With deft footage—and under military police protection while entering Barraza’s dangerous “red zone”—filmmaker John Urbano captures in Beauty of the Fight not only the daily struggle but also the dignity, joy, and heightened awareness of its residents, even as this “interim” shantytown nears extinction due to recent outside private and commercial development.

Boxers, cock fighters, gang bangers, street urchins, small business owners, family members, community leaders, and visionaries detail the day to day plight to hold on to homes and endure the loss of loved ones due to street conflicts while they also express the inevitable hopes of all peoples who fall victim to unconscious political and economic forces. The film also explores the vagaries of documenting a place and people destined to slip into the past.

Friday, August 28, 2009
6:00 pm
The Carter Center


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