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![Maquilapolis [city of factories]](images/preview_title.gif)
by Vicky Funari and Sergio De La Torre
Carmen works the graveyard shift in one of Tijuana's 800 maquiladoras, the multinationally-owned factories that came to Mexico for its cheap labor. After making television components all night, Carmen comes home to a shack she built out of recycled garage doors, in a neighborhood with no sewage lines or electricity. She suffers from kidney damage and lead poisoning from her years of exposure to toxic chemicals. She earns six dollars a day. But Carmen is not a victim. She is a dynamic young woman, busy making a life for herself and her children. In "Maquilapolis," Carmen and her friend Lourdes confront labor violations, environmental devastation and urban chaos, reaching beyond their daily struggle for survival to organize for change, taking on both the Mexican and U.S. governments and a major television manufacturer. The women also use video cameras to document their lives, their city and their hopes for the future. A co-production of the Independent Television Service (ITVS).
Broadcast Date:
Tuesday, October 10, 2006 at 10PM
(check local listings)
Website Launch:
TBA, 2006
URL: www.pbs.org/pov/maquilapolis/
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Vicky Funari directed and edited the acclaimed non-fiction feature film Paulina, which received a Grand Jury Prize at the San Francisco International Film Festival, and Lifetime Television's Vision Award at the Hamptons Film Festival. She also co-directed and edited the award-winning documentary Live Nude Girls Unite!. 
Sergio De La Torre is a photographer, performance artist and installation artist whose works have focused on issues regarding diaspora/tourism and identity politics. De La Torre's works have appeared in museums and festivals in Venezuela, Mexico and the United States. He is the co-founder of the performance/ installation group Los Tricksters. 
