Synopsis:
Three intimate but epic stories about this iconic drug and the
people who produce it, use it and fight it. A chilling journey from
the coca fields and cocaine makers of the Peruvian Andes, via drug
gangs in the favelas of Rio, to a man who stands behind over half
of Colombias drug trade. It shows how the vast sums of illegal
money involved are damaging individuals, cities and, finally,
states.
It was shown in the UK in three episodes on Channel 4:
Episode 1: Viva La Coca, takes viewers into the world of the
Peruvian coca farmers, who are totally dependent on the paltry
money they make from growing coca leaves, and the cocaine-makers,
who turn the leaves into "dandruff of the Andes." It follows the
complex process of a kilo of cocaine being made, from the leaf to
the final drying in a microwave. The film makes clear that the
peasants and the drug makers are totally interdependent.
Episode 2: Leo and Ze, is a brutal, unsettling story of violence,
poverty and wasted lives. Ze, a former gang leader who has managed
to get out and survive, tries to help his nephew Leo to do the
same. Through the lives of this family, a picture emerges of the
way in which the gangs, financed by cocaine sales, have taken over
the favela. These are adolescent boys who rule by terror. The
normal inhabitants can do nothing in the face of the guns bought on
the proceeds of "the white stuff."
Episdoe 3: An Honest Citizen, explores how 30 years of billions of
dollars of illegal drug money have made Colombia virtually
ungovernable. Supplying 80 percent of the world's cocaine,
Colombia's booming drug trade - estimated at $6 billion a year -has
funded a brutal civil war involving leftist guerillas, right-wing
paramilitaries, and a government tainted at many levels with
corruption. An Honest Citizen follows Maria Cristina Chirolla, Head
of the Attorney General's anti-money laundering office, as she
struggles to fight the extraordinary reach of drug money in
Colombia. When she discovers that the drug barons protected by the
paramilitaries have plotted to assassinate her, she ponders whether
the battle is worth fighting and at what personal cost?
Awards
Leo and Ze shortlisted for
Grierson Award for Best Documentary on a Contemporary Issue,
2005
Best Film - Brighton Festival
Overseas Press Club Award, USA
Festivals
Sheffield International Documentary Festival
Helsinki Documentary Festival
Brighton Festival
Synopsis:
Three intimate but epic stories about this iconic drug and the
people who produce it, use it and fight it. A chilling journey from
the coca fields and cocaine makers of the Peruvian Andes, via drug
gangs in the favelas of Rio, to a man who stands behind over half
of Colombias drug trade. It shows how the vast sums of illegal
money involved are damaging individuals, cities and, finally,
states.
It was shown in the UK in three episodes on Channel 4:
Episode 1: Viva La Coca, takes viewers into the world of the
Peruvian coca farmers, who are totally dependent on the paltry
money they make from growing coca leaves, and the cocaine-makers,
who turn the leaves into "dandruff of the Andes." It follows the
complex process of a kilo of cocaine being made, from the leaf to
the final drying in a microwave. The film makes clear that the
peasants and the drug makers are totally interdependent.
Episode 2: Leo and Ze, is a brutal, unsettling story of violence,
poverty and wasted lives. Ze, a former gang leader who has managed
to get out and survive, tries to help his nephew Leo to do the
same. Through the lives of this family, a picture emerges of the
way in which the gangs, financed by cocaine sales, have taken over
the favela. These are adolescent boys who rule by terror. The
normal inhabitants can do nothing in the face of the guns bought on
the proceeds of "the white stuff."
Episdoe 3: An Honest Citizen, explores how 30 years of billions of
dollars of illegal drug money have made Colombia virtually
ungovernable. Supplying 80 percent of the world's cocaine,
Colombia's booming drug trade - estimated at $6 billion a year -has
funded a brutal civil war involving leftist guerillas, right-wing
paramilitaries, and a government tainted at many levels with
corruption. An Honest Citizen follows Maria Cristina Chirolla, Head
of the Attorney General's anti-money laundering office, as she
struggles to fight the extraordinary reach of drug money in
Colombia. When she discovers that the drug barons protected by the
paramilitaries have plotted to assassinate her, she ponders whether
the battle is worth fighting and at what personal cost?