Beyond the Classroom presents “CESAR’S LAST FAST” - Monday

Monday, May 4, 7:00-9:00 pm

South Campus Commons Building 1, Room 1102

(http://www.beyondtheclassroom.umd.edu/locationbtc.htm)

Cesar’s Last Fast is a multi-platform feature documentary film about the private sacrifice and spiritual conviction behind Cesar Chavez’s struggle for the humane treatment of America’s farm workers, and the impact Chavez’s legacy has on today’s generation of organizers fighting for farm worker rights. The film is built around powerful, never-before-seen footage of Chavez’s 1988 “Fast for Life,” a 36-day act of penance for not having done enough to stop growers from spraying pesticides on farm workers. The story of this water-only fast is the film’s dramatic arc into which the filmmakers interweave the historic events that defined the life mission of America’s most inspiring Latino leader and the struggles confronting today’s farm workers.   This project is more than just a film. It is a powerful tool to engage people and organizations to participate in social justice movements using Cesar Chavez’s inspiring story as a model for how individuals and communities can address the inequities they confront every day. To carry out this social impact initiative, the filmmakers will partner with national civil, labor, human rights, and faith-based organizations. These partner groups will organize community-based screenings and incorporate the film into their social justice campaigns. This strategy will ensure the film reaches a new generation of immigrant workers who may not know Chavez’s story and his impact on Latino civil and labor rights in the United States.   • Official Selection, Sundance Film Festival, 2014. • “Cesar’s Last Fast goes well beyond its title to tell the complicated history of the United Farm Workers and the man who led it, César Chavez. In this engrossing film, we learn more than how Cesar used the ritual of fasting to advance la causa. The film is the first to grapple with the mixed legacy of Chavez, revealing both his creativity and his desire for total control. The filmmakers include a diverse set of actors from the movement resulting in the most complex portrayal of the man ever captured on film.” — Matt Garcia, Professor of History, Arizona State University. ·       “A reverential perspective on America’s renowned union founder and leader Cesar Chavez.” – Justin Lowe, Hollywood Reporter.     For details, go to: https://www.facebook.com/events/1571686489740094/