it seems the whole blood of the condor thing was a "misundertanding:"

Mr Hayek:

I am the instructor of the proseminar showing Blood Of The Condor. Perhaps using Sanjines' own description of the film was a bit provocative, as it was meant to be.

I am well aware of the debate over whether peace-corps workers participated in forced sterilization in Bolivia and plan to discuss it at the screening. I also plan to discuss the often problematic role of aid workers in imperialism.

The announcement you received was a standard form used by the Institute For Cinema and Culture. The listing of sponsors is in no way meant to imply that the content of the films express the opinion of the University of Iowa (and it is far from clear to me what it would mean for a large organization, such as a university, to have an opinion.) Furthermore, the list was not meant to suggest that the sponsors assert the truth of any claims in the film or its promotional materials. The list is merely names those organizations that generously funded the series.

As for your generous offer to show films at the englert, I have been extremely interested in this possibility for a number of years now, but last time I spoke with Justine, she told me that film exhibition had been prohibited by the terms of the sale of the englert to the city. Has that changed? Is there a projector in the building? I would happy to work with you in creating a film series.

Louis-Georges Schwartz
Assistant Professor
W 221 AJB
Department of Cinema & Comparative Literature
University of Iowa
Iowa City, IA
52242
tel: 319-335-0639


On Jan 26, 2006, at 11:59 AM, Matthew J. Hayek wrote:

Mr. Creekmur,

Thank you for your email message. I certainly do not mean to unleash a University-wide protest, but I think my message from yesterday was misinterpreted. I would never want a film of this kind withheld from an academic (or other) audience. And I agree there is significant pedagogical value in screening and discussing the film.

My point is not that including the film in your series implicitly or explicitly asserts its truth. Rather, the announcement asserts the film's truth -- to wit, "tells a quasi-historical narrative of a Peace Corps medical clinic that was sterilizing..;" "based on actual events which occurred in Bolivia...;" "director Jorge Sanjines straightforwardly tells the Indians' story....;" and so on. Listing the co-sponsors immediately following such language, while perhaps not uncritically endorsing the politics of every film you show, does link your co-sponsors to a particular description of the film. Perhaps a less editorialized description would have been in order. Perhaps your co-sponsors aren't concerned.

The film did have a significant impact in Latin America, and not just Bolivia. The Peace Corps did not return to Bolivia until 1990 in response to a cholera outbreak that decimated much of the Andes. I spent two years bringing potable water and latrines to Quechua villages much like those in the film.

I am impressed and pleased that the University is showing the film. While I cannot make the screening, I am sure a meaningful discussion will follow.

-Matt Hayek

P.S. As president of the Englert Theatre board of directors and someone who enjoys a variety of film genres, I would love to see screenings like this at the Englert. Consider this a pitch to the University community!

Matthew J. Hayek
Hayek, Hayek, Brown, Moreland & Hayek, L.L.P.
120½ East Washington Street, Iowa City, Iowa 52240-3976
Tel.: 319.337.9606 Fax: 319.338.7376
E-mail: mhayek@hhbmlaw.com
Website: http://www.hhbmlaw.com
-----Original Message-----
From: Corey Creekmur [mailto:corey-creekmur@uiowa.edu]
Sent: Thursday, January 26, 2006 10:15 AM
To: Davies, Diana K
Cc: louis-g-schwartz@uiowa.edu; kenneth-cmiel@uiowa.edu; amy-weismann@uiowa.edu; Matthew J. Hayek; william-reisinger@uiowa.edu; thomas-baldridge@uiowa.edu
Subject: blood of the condor
Importance: High

Dear all:

I am writing in my capacity as the Director of the Institute for Cinema and Culture, which is responsible for the film series on Human Rights Film this semester: that series, organized by Assistant Professor in Film Studies Louis-Georges Schwartz, includes a screening of the film BLOOD OF THE CONDOR.

We fully recognize that this is a controversial film being screened in a series of controversial films. Even if the film might be characterized as "political propaganda," that claim in itself does not challenge the film's widely recognized importance in the history of Latin American cinema, nor does it challenge the potential pedagogical value of screening and discussing the film. (One could even argue for the unusual importance of training students in the critical reception of political propaganda.) The inclusion of the film in the series -- which includes documentaries, experimental films, and fiction films -- does not implicitly or explicitly assert this film's (or any film's) "truth." Indeed, issues of representation, and their often conflicted relationship with historical facts and political perspectives, are at the heart of our teaching of cinema at the University of Iowa.

This film series, while functioning as a class, is also open to the University and general public: all are invited to attend and participate in the discussions that follow each screening. We thus welcome respectful critical responses to and debate over any film in the series. At the same time, we must resist any suggestion that we should withhold material from our students or the general public that is controversial, debatable, or in some sense "untrue" (a common characteristic of the explicitly fictional films in the series, including BLOOD OF THE CONDOR). We understand our co-sponsors for the series to be encouraging exactly such critical viewing and intellectual inquiry, rather than simply supporting an evening of entertainment, on the one hand, or uncritically endorsing the politics of every film we show, on the other.

Even a quick search reveals that BLOOD OF THE CONDOR has the subject of a great deal of critical commentary, and thus a key text in the field of film studies. Exposing students to such texts -- and the critical discussions they generate -- is central to our mission as educators. The film is included in most major film studies and Latin American research libraries, and is consistently included in course syllabi at major universities. Just a few examples of sophisticated discussion of the film, including the controversies it generated, can be found at:
http://peacecorpsonline.org/messages/messages/467/6056.html
http://www.ejumpcut.org/archive/jc44.2001/garcia/garciaforsite.html#San.1top

Sincerely,
Corey K. Creekmur
Director, Institute for Cinema and Culture
DEO, Department of Cinema and Comparative Literature