The roots marketing of ‘Cocalero’

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The traditional film-festival circuit is taking a detour in the case of ‘Cocalero,’ a documentary about Bolivian President Evo Morales, who rose from union activist in the coca-growing fields to election in 2005 as Bolivia’s first indigenous president. The documentary, which has already appeared at Sundance and the Mar del Plata film festival in Argentina, is to be screened April 19 in the Chapare, the Bolivian coca-growing tropics where Morales, an Aymara Indian, first gained exposure on the national and international levels.

The film’s positive treatment of the controversial leader, a major critic of U.S. policy in Latin America, should go over well in the Chapare, where the charismatic Morales remains head of the federation representing coca-leaf producers, known as cocaleros. Morales reportedly plans to attend the event. He has championed coca-leaf cultivation for tea, medicinal and other purposes, even as U.S. authorities have warned that much of the leaf goes to cocaine production.

Discussions are said to be underway for a commercial release of the film

Posted by Patrick J. McDonnell in Buenos Aires