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.[2]
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.[3]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.[4]
Maestra is distributed by Women Make Movies,[3] a nonprofit organization founded in 1971 to address the under-representation and misrepresentation of women in media that facilitates the production, promotion, distribution, and exhibition of independent films by and about women.[16]
References
^ ab"U.S. Premier of Cuban Documentary Maestra 2014-06-06 at the Wayback Machine." KPFA.org. 6 April 2011.
^Maestra Vanderbilt Curriculum Guide, Center for Latin American Studies, Vanderbilt University
maestra, film, maestra, minute, documentary, film, directed, catherine, murphy, about, youngest, women, teachers, 1961, cuban, literacy, campaign, maestrafilm, posterdirected, bycatherine, murphywritten, byeve, goldbergproduced, bycatherine, murphystarringalic. Maestra is a 33 minute documentary film directed by Catherine Murphy about the youngest women teachers of the 1961 Cuban Literacy Campaign MaestraFilm posterDirected byCatherine MurphyWritten byEve GoldbergProduced byCatherine MurphyStarringAlice WalkerDiana BalboaNorma GuillardDistributed byWomen Make MoviesRelease dateApril 6 2011 2011 04 06 La Pena Cultural Center 1 Running time33 minutesCountryCubaLanguagesEnglish SpanishIn 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 2 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 3 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 4 Contents 1 Accolades 2 Distribution 3 References 4 External linksAccolades EditMaestra premiered in the United States in April 2011 with two screenings in San Francisco CA 1 The film has won the following awards 3 Black Maria Film Festival winner Director s Choice Award Ojai Film Festival Honorable MentionMaestra has screened at the following film festivals Workers Unite Film Festival New York City NY USA May 2014 5 Workers Film Festival San Diego CA USA 2014 6 Sarasota Film Festival Sarasota FL USA April 2014 7 New Hampshire Film Festival Portsmouth NH USA 2013 8 Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival Los Angeles CA USA 2013 9 Louisville s International Festival of Film Louisville KY USA 2013 10 New York African Diaspora International Film Festival New York City NY USA 2013 11 Raindance Film Festival London UK 2012 12 LA Femme International Film Festival Los Angeles CA USA 2012 13 Legacy Media Institute International Film Festival Petersburg VA USA as part of the Traveling Caribbean Showcase 2013 14 Traverse City Film Festival Traverse City MI USA 2012 15 Distribution EditMaestra is distributed by Women Make Movies 3 a nonprofit organization founded in 1971 to address the under representation and misrepresentation of women in media that facilitates the production promotion distribution and exhibition of independent films by and about women 16 References Edit a b U S Premier of Cuban Documentary Maestra Archived 2014 06 06 at the Wayback Machine KPFA org 6 April 2011 Maestra Vanderbilt Curriculum Guide Center for Latin American Studies Vanderbilt University a b c MAESTRA Women Make Movies Press Kit Maestra Official Website Films amp Directors 2014 Archived 2014 05 13 at the Wayback Machine Workers Unite Film Festival 2014 Maestra Workers Film Festival 2014 MAESTRA Sarasota Film Festival 2014 Maestra New Hampshire Film Festival 2013 MAESTRA Archived 2014 10 10 at the Wayback Machine Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival 30 September 2013 Maestra Archived 2014 06 05 at archive today Louisville s International Festival of Film 2013 Maestra New York African Diaspora International Film Festival Fall 2013 Maestra Raindance Film Festival 2012 Lynch Tina Maestra at the LA Femme Film Festival The Los Angeles Beat 6 October 2012 Maestra Schedule Legacy Media Institute International Film Festival 2013 Maestra Traverse City Film Festival 2012 General Info About Women Make MoviesExternal links EditOfficial website Maestra at IMDb Maestra on Women Make Movies An interview with director Catherine Murphy from Festival de Cine Global Maestra 8 min version on YouTube Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Maestra film amp oldid 1112168124, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
