Institute History
Description
500 Years tells the story of a moment that may change Guatemala forever. For centuries a tiny white elite has ruled over the majority indigenous Mayan population, maintaining their power through racism and violence. When this elite was threatened by democracy in 1954 the CIA staged a coup, setting in motion decades of repression, impunity, and genocide. But the Mayan people have preserved their culture in the caldron of resistance. In 2012, as the Mayan calendar predicted a new era, indigenous survivors forced a national trial for genocide, won a historic victory, and then forged an unprecedented alliance with non-indigenous Guatemalans to overthrow a corrupt President.
Screening Details
Credits
As you use our Online Archives, please understand that the information presented from Festivals, Labs, and other activities is taken directly from official publications from each year. While this information is limited and doesn't necessarily represent the full list of participants (e.g. actors and crew), it is the list given to us by the main film/play/project contact at the time, based on the space restrictions of our publications. Each entry in the Online Archives is meant as a historical record of a particular film, play, or project at the time of its involvement with Sundance Institute. For this reason, we can only amend an entry if a name is misspelled, or if the entry does not correctly reflect the original publication.
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