Films

Land of Amber  (2014) 52 min . Simojovel in the South of Mexico, is one of the two regions in the world where natural amber has a unique transparency and range of colours. The way of extracting remains unchanged since Mayan times: by hand in tunnels dug into the mountains. This amber has become very valuable for international buyers. The indigenous miners own their mines, but they cannot reach the buyers, separated by 3 other steps in the marketing and production chain, where jewellers can make a 500%+ profit. But now, Chinese and US buyers are going directly to the mines and paying top dollar and the old club of national jewellers complain of unfairness. Distributed by ID Communications

[themedy_media type=”vimeo” url=”https://vimeo.com/103633574″]

City Wild (2012) 82 & 52 minutes  Whackala’s first feature-length documentary about the people who live and work in Dublin’s vast Phoenix Park in the North West of the city, an urban park which serves as everything from a wildlife reserve to a busy recreational space, and the residence to some very special mammals. The keepers, rangers and gardeners keep the balance between those worlds and have spent most of their lives waking up and going to bed amongst them. Check the website for more details of the film and the process. Distributed by ID Communications

[themedy_media type=”vimeo” url=”https://vimeo.com/55251197″]

Forty Foot (2009) 9 min. Whackala completed the International Documentary Challenge in March 2009 and won Best Film of the Challenge! Leticia and Paul working in partnership with Aoibheann O’Sullivan created the short documentary Forty Foot. It has also won the Award for Best Irish short doc and the Audience Award at Stranger Than Fiction and is currently touring festivals. You can find out more about the film here. And watch it on INDIEFLIX

This is what the Doc Challenge judges said about the film:

We picked one film that we all connected with … that film captured a place and the people with so much genuine spirit, ease and humour…

 After the Revolution (2008) 52 min. Whackala’s award winning documentary exploring the role and the subsequent influence of indigenous Mayan women in the Zapatista uprising. You can learn more about the film from its website.

After the Revolution is is available to rent from VIMEO ON DEMAND

This is what the judges at NodoDocFest said about the film:

“[it] showed a clear historical context and evolution of what may be considered “third world” with a simplicity almost incredible in view of the complexity of the topic… For the simplicity of the editing and the close connection with the lives of the characters it was possible for the viewer to get carried by emotions and live the social status of the protagonists.”

[themedy_media type=”vimeo” url=”https://vimeo.com/3039237″]

 Whackala…We Make Films