City of Dreams (film)
| City of Dreams | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Bruno Sorrentino |
| Produced by | Farah Durrani Gianfranco Norelli |
| Narrated by | Bruno Sorrentino |
| Music by | Liz Drew |
| Edited by | Fiona Murch |
Production companies | Palio Pictures production BBC |
Release date |
|
Running time | 45 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English Spanish |
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City of Dreams is a 2001 documentary filmed by Gianfranco Norelli and Bruno Surrentino that portrays domestic violence against Mexican women.
The films depicts a series of murders of Mexican girls and women in Juarez, Mexico. The most common female murders in Juarez are factory workers in over 400 U.S. owned factories. The title refers to City of Dreams, a name which many Mexicans called Juarez as they tried to follow their version of the "American Dream."
Synopsis[edit]
Juarez has become one of the most dangerous cities in Mexico, as over 200 Mexican women have been killed there. Most of their dead bodies were found in the wastelands outside of the city. Juarez is a border town a few yards away from the city of El Paso. For many Mexicans, it is considered a stopping off point, where they dream of starting a new life in the United States. But for others, the dream lies in the city of Juarez where many factory jobs are created by the presence by multinational companies. The Maquiladoras factories have attracted workers from all over Mexico that has caused the population of the Juarez to grow in recent years. Most of the factory jobs in Juarez were designed for women.
Juarez is also known for its gang fights and illegal drug trafficking, which cause the Juarez Police to put most of their attention searching drugs and weapons at night clubs. With Juarez Police working to keep gang and drug activity a minimum, Suli Ponce and the Women Homicide Team were put under intense pressure for dealing with the murders of young women. Since 1993, Juarez locals found dead bodies lying in the wastelands surrounding the city as the death toll has reached over 200 deaths. Most of the bodies killed were female factory workers who came to Juarez to search for a better life. Juarez police focused their efforts to find the killer in the red light district, where they stumbled upon an Egyptian man who had frequented many of the local haunts. Abdel Latif Sharif was arrested and accused of the abduction and rape of a local prostitute, but the charges were dropped. It was later revealed, that on the USA in the 1980s Sharif had been convicted pf sexual assault and the authorities quickly identified him as the serial killer.
Sharif accuses authorities of using him as a scapegoat to blame for the murders. However, his accusation was ineffective as the police brought in a gang of drug dealers called the Rebels, who stated that the murders were constructed by Sharif. Despite the media reporting that Sharif is a psychotic serial killer, there was no evidence to support this fact. The media has never questioned the authorities about the official version of the story. Instead, they published whatever the prosecutor told them as long as the people believed it. With Sharif locked away in jail, more families were losing their daughters.
Two years ago, Paula Flores' oldest daughter Sagrario disappeared on her way home from shift at the American General Electric plant. Two weeks after Sagrario went missing, her body was found in the scrubland. Sagrario's family learned her death through the local papers and became furious when the police claimed Sagrario had provoked her death by leading an active nightlife. After Sagrario's family have buried Sagrario's body, Sagrario'a younger sister Guillermina Flores decided to fight for women's justice. She and other women form a victim support organization called Voices Without Echoes to help find missing girls.
Canadian criminologist Dr. Candice Skrapec came to Juarez to spend several months helping local police investigation. During her work, she tries to assess whether there are one or more serial killers at work by improving police procedures. 16-year old factory worker Veronica Martinez went missing seven days ago on her way home from work. Her mother Ms. Martinez has contacted the police headquarters to pressure Ponce to take action, but Ponce did not respond to Ms. Martinez message. Gulliermina decided that the Voices Without Echoes to investigate Veronica's disappearance on their own. The women suspect Veronica may have been abducted by her boyfriend and went to her boyfriend's house to confront him. However, the investigation was not successful.
Casa Amiga, a women's support organization that helps abuse victims maintain a database that includes domestic violence against women. Their research found that the changes brought by new jobs opportunities are pushing traditional gender roles to the limit. Sharif was once again blamed for orchestrating the killings from his prison. The series of murder charges against Sharif were so flimsy that they were all thrown out, but in 1998, he was sentenced to 30 years for the murder of a teenage factory worker named Elizabeth Castro. The key evidence was once again seriously flawed. The re-opening of the case was serious embarrassment for the authorities who staked their reputation on Sharif being guilty. Sharif was transferred to a maximum-security prison in Chihuahua and placed in solitary confinement. During his five year imprisonment, there were no evidence to prove that Sharif was connected to any of the killings.
Meanwhile, the killings continue and new names appear on the list of missing women. The latest killing involves a 19 year old college student Lupita. Lupita's disappearance caused outrage in Juarez because she was a local student, not a migrant worker. Local radio station have taken up the lead and appealed to people to join search parties on the outskirts of town. The appeal was successful. People are becoming concerned that the killers have now moved from migrant workers to young college students. Ponce made a radio broadcast announcement claiming that there was nothing she can do to help fulfill the parents' demands to bring justice to their daughters deaths. Her comment received heavy and negative criticism from the media as riots form in Juarez to call out the government and authorities for their failures of not protecting women's rights.
The films ends with a few days after the demonstration, another body of a murdered women has been found. In the City of Dreams, it is those, with the most to gain from social changes who have become victims.
Cast[edit]
Soledad Hernandez: A factory worker
Maribel Salas: A factory worker and Soledad's roommate
Suli Ponce: Head of Women's Homicide Unit
Irene Blanco: Sharif defence council
Abdel Latif Sharif: A chief suspect of the Juarez killings
Rosa Isela Perez: Investigate journalists
Paula Flores: Sagrario's mother
Guillermina Flores: Sagrario's younger sister and founder of Voices Without Echoes
Dr. Candice Skraped: Canadian criminologist and expert in the psychology of serial killers
Esther Chavez Cano: Head of Casa Amiga Women Support Centre Women
Epitacio Luna: Lupita's father
Celia de la Rosa: Lupita's mother
Sandy Amaya: Lupita's friend
Production[edit]
The film was shot around the city Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Gianfranco Norelli and Bruno Surrentino use real-life events and places where the domestic violence against women occurs. Each individual in the film give his or her perspective of how these kidnappings and murders affected them as they fight to bring change in their society. However, the film suggested that there is much work to be done to protect women's rights for the Juarez community.
Release information[edit]
The film was originally broadcast January 13, 2001 on the BBC2 television program Correspondent.
Critical Reception[edit]
Upon its release, City of Dreams is considered one of the most unrated documentary films in media. The film received no ratings and reviews from both IMDb and All Movie, which suggest the film failed to spark interest to the audience. WorldCat argued that the access of the film itself was very limited, aside from Alexander Street, are found in local libraries and universities. Despite the lack of media attention, City of Dreams give some background about unanswerable questions concerning the murders in Juarez. Whether the Machismo culture that causes men to rape and murder factory workers left citizens question themselves and their government. With more migrant women leaving their homes and traditional life as mothers and housewives cause men to feel threatened by them.
Educational Media Reviews Online recommended this film as it reflects the government's inability to bring change in the city of Juarez. The website praised the City of Dreams for its use of repetition of typical news reportage. Female workers are repeatedly reported being kidnapped and found dead in wastelands outside of Juarez. Although, these news death reports are common in the Juarez community, authorities are least affected by the victims' deaths and consider it as a norm.
Bibliography[edit]
- Harnois, C. (2015). Race, Ethnicity, Sexuality, and Women's Political Consciousness of Gender. Social Psychology Quarterly,78(4), 365-386.
- Hoewer, M. (2016). Resistance and Activism against State Violence in Chiapas, Mexico. In Sanford V., Stefatos K., & Salvi C. (Eds.), Gender Violence in Peace and War: States of Complicity (pp. 64–82). New Brunswick, New Jersey; London: Rutgers University Press. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1f5g4sc.8 (Activism against domestic violence)
- Krook, M. (2019). GLOBAL FEMINIST COLLABORATIONS AND THE CONCEPT OF VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN IN POLITICS. Journal of International Affairs, 72(2), 77-94. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/26760833 (Violence against women)
- Mensa, M., & Grow, J. (2019). Women Creatives and Machismo in Mexican Advertising: Challenging Barriers to Success. European Review of Latin American and Caribbean Studies / Revista Europea De Estudios Latinoamericanos Y Del Caribe, (107), 27-53. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/26764791 (Machismo culture)
- Orozco, A., Nievar, M., & Middlemiss, W. (2012). Domestic Violence in Mexico: Perspectives of Mexican Counselors. Journal of Comparative Family Studies, 43(5), 751-772. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/23267844 (Domestic violence in Mexico)
References[edit]
- ↑ City of Dreams. WorldCat. OCLC 50482241. Retrieved 10 October 2019. Search this book on
External links[edit]
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