Can the forced displacement of families ever be justified? This is a question that knows no borders as governments seek out locations for new highways, hospitals, universities, and, especially, airports. The people of Atenco, Mexico, argue against plans to put one on their farmlands.

If you find it unusual that a farmer is comparing compensation for his land with the cost of presidential bath linens, you are clearly not aware of the toallagate scandal that rocked Vicente Fox’s administration and led to resignations at Los Pinos. We’re not sure what kind of towel US $400 buys, but it best be pretty darned afelpado is all we can say!

Something that induces lagrimas (tears) is said to be lacrimógeno. So if you were organizing a Festival de cine lacrimógeno, only tear-jerkers would fit the bill. If, on the other hand, you were organizing a protest of the forced seizure of your family’s farm, you might find yourself crying because of the gas lacrimógeno wafting through the air.

In this installment of the dispute documentary we hear Mexican revolutionary Emiliano Zapata quoted over a protester’s loudspeaker. As Zapata said: “¡Victoria o muerte!” (“Victory or death!”). To protest the taking of their farmland, the people of Atenco are using stronger and stronger language. Listen in.

Political campaigns are tough (and they can get even tougher after the voting). In this video documenting Andrés Manuel López Obrador’s presidential race, we learn some of the tricks of the trade in Mexico.

Fran belongs to the seventh generation of the circus family that ended up founding Circus Berlin. Like many of his fellow circus performers, Fran can't imagine his life outside the circus, where he works in the world of magic. Let's hear more from this passionate performer.

As kids spend ever-increasing amounts of time on the internet at the expense of other activities, are they really aware of its risks? A Spanish teacher tries to educate them as well as their parents.

Daily exposure to wood smoke can really wreak havoc on the body. It affects the eyes, the skin, and, of course, the lungs. With small material investment, kitchen smoke is minimized through a cleverly designed, well-ventilated, stove.

Joan Planas’ documentary, Con ánimo de lucro (With Intent to Profit), launches with a list of the UN’s objectives for development in the new millennium. While the UN plan calls for cutting poverty in half by 2015, it’s off to a terrible start. So we’re off to explore what’s gone wrong in Nicaragua, one of the countries with the most NGOs and the highest levels of poverty in Latin America. 

Continuing their trip through Nicaragua, Planas’ film crew stops in San Nicolás and discusses the lack of potable water. A group of Spaniards have offered to remedy the situation. Why does the problem still exist? Could the elected officials actually be standing in the way of progress?

Trying to figure out why he wouldn’t approve the water project, the filmmakers try to track down the mayor, but they can’t find him at home. They do find children with containers making the trek to the water source from home and back.

The film crew met with a team from Ayuda en Acción, and it appears that its organizational heart is in the right place. Yet, despite the presence of over five hundred NGOs working to improve the lot of Nicaragua’s poor, their plight worsens every year. Many local activists and intellectuals do not trust the non-profits, and accuse them of having their own enrichment as concern numero uno.

Spain has never been a country afraid of divisive politics, and filmmaker Joan Planas has no fear of getting controversial when presenting his views of society, church and state. Note that the older gentleman is not speaking straight Spanish but Catalan, and the Spanish captions reflect not his exact words but are the same as the Spanish subtitles seen in white on the screen.

Not only does our filmmaker continue with his diatribe against the state of society as he finds it in Nicaragua, but the story takes an investigative turn. We find that not only doesn’t sponsored-child Christina del Carmen match the photo that had been supplied by Ayuda en Acción, she is also not yet enrolled in a school.

Joan Planas continues to pull no punches, taking on NGOs, television, and the Catholic church. Oddly enough, despite his firebrand rhetoric, the film ends on a rather conservative note, suggesting that perhaps what poor nations need is not so much charity but rather a change in actitude, or “attitude,” so as to reflect the mindset of people in successful nations. Tune in to find out the details.

An emotionally distraught man embarks on a drunk driving spree with dire consequences.

As a young girl named Mariana struggles to deal with her unexpected pregnancy, a woman wishes her partner the best at his job interview.

A mother trying to get her son to school on time and a young girl in distress' lives literally and figuratively collide.

When a drunk and hysterical driver causes a serious accident, a crowd attempts to prevent him from fleeing the scene.

As paramedics attend to the victims at the scene, the driver who caused the accident refuses to cooperate with police.

Following his job interview, Roberto's disappointment turns to anguish upon receiving a call from the hospital to which his partner has been transferred.

While Mariana is in the operating room undergoing emergency surgery, her parents are shocked to learn about their daughter's tragic situation.

Upon arrival at the hospital, the loved ones of the two women who were hit by the drunk driver are devastated to learn of the seriousness of their situations.

While the doctors monitor the condition of Jorge, the driver who caused the accident, the victims' relatives are irate to learn of his whereabouts.