Everyone Their Grain of Sand

Everyone Their Grain of Sand
(2005) Beth Bird

Although this is a bit of a departure from the overall theme of my blog (books), I wanted to share my thoughts on this documentary film that I watched last night. This is a film about Maclovio Rojas, a small community outside of Tijuana, Mexico. The film documents the community’s struggles against the state government in order to secure basic services – running water, roads, a school – for their community. Ignored by the government – who prefers to lease land to large multinational corporations - the people of Maclovio Rojas organize and work together on development projects like building a school and tapping into the nearby aqueduct to get access to clean water.

Filmmaker Beth Bird follows the progress of this impoverished community over a period of three years. During these three years the community faces repeated setbacks, like the arrest and imprisonment of their leaders, and hard-won victories, such as the first graduating class at the school they build and staffed themselves. This film is a fascinating look at the true grassroots activism and the social, economic and political impacts of NAFTA and economic globalization on the spirited people of this amazing community.