Event

Cesar's Last Fast

Richard Ray Perez, Lorena Parlee, USA, 2014, 100 min

In 1988 United Farm Worker activist Cesar Chavez began a 36-day fast to call attention to toxic pesticide use on crops, a dubious practice that threatened the environment, the food itself, and the lives of the field workers. Growers disputed the connection; unexplained cancer clusters argued otherwise. The fast drew national attention, especially during its closing days, when the very health of Chavez hung dangerously in the balance. Using never-seen-before archival footage detailing an insider's view of Cesar's fast, directors Richard Perez and Lorena Parlee combine the powerful footage with interviews and historical photographs to tell the life story of the famed UFW co-founder, and his importance to American history. Featuring you-are-their first-person testimonies by UFW co-founder Dolores Huerta, writer/director Luis Valdez, Martin Sheen and many others.

This will be the first screening of the film after its triumphant 2014 Sundance Film Festival World Premiere.