The Chattanooga Film Society and Mise En Scenesters announced the fourth installment of the Summer POV Film Series with the documentary Reportero, produced by filmmaker Bernardo Ruiz. The film will be shown Monday, Sept. 10, at the Downtown Chattanooga YMCA at 6:30 p.m. The screening is free.
The Chattanooga Film Society & Mise en Scenesters are screening a selection of documentary films from the acclaimed POV series, which has been running on PBS affiliated television stations for over 25 years. This film series is a chance to see these films in a way they have never been presented before to viewers in Chattanooga.
This month's film, Reportero, follows a veteran reporter and his colleagues at Zeta, a Tijuana-based independent newsweekly, as they stubbornly ply their trade in one of the deadliest places in the world for members of the media. In Mexico, more than 40 journalists have been slain or have vanished since December 2006, when President Felipe Calderón came to power and launched a government offensive against the country’s powerful drug cartels and organized crime.
Many reporters, including those at Zeta, have been slain for reporting on such crimes as drug trafficking, the violence and murders involved in the drug trafficking business, and most importantly, the government officials directly involved in the crimes. The filmmaker's liaison into this dangerous world of Mexican journalism is ex-Zeta reporter Sergio Haro, who says, “It's easier to look the other way and not cover this issue, but in the end you would become another accomplice. For the rest of my life, I only want to be a reporter.”