Behind the Film and Website
The 2005 documentary film El Enemigo Común (The Common Enemy) by Simón Sedillo and Austin Indymedia is an exposé of repression and resistance in Oaxaca, Mexico. The film documents paramilitary activity against indigenous communities in Oaxaca from 2002 through 2005. The film also provides historical context for the expansion of capitalism and empire in Oaxaca, and incites viewers to act against it as a common enemy. El Enemigo Común is a call to action for international civil society to stand in solidarity against state sponsored repression and for human peace, dignity and justice, in Oaxaca.
The website www.elenemigocomun.net was launched in February of 2006 to support El Enemigo Común. The website began with a background for the film, synopsis, video trailers and a schedule of film screenings around the United States. Production stills and audio advertisements were added to the website shortly after its launch to provide organizers with publicity materials to advertise screening engagements in their community. An important feature of the website is the ability to both download the film and watch it online. Other features of the website include the publishing of bilingual communiqués from Oaxaca and links to social organizations in Oaxaca and around the world.
Material published on elenemigocomun.net is sourced by countless volunteer contributors. Much of the content was written or produced by activists and organizations based in Mexico and the USA. The types of organizations include social–political organizations based in Oaxaca and Mexico City, media collectives and solidarity groups around the world.
Visitors to the website have the option of joining the Oaxaca Solidarity Alert List, an English language email list used for sending out communiqués, fact sheets and letters of support. The email list has over 700 subscribers living in countries around the world who are encouraged to forward the emails, repost the information on other websites, and link to the article at elenemigocomun.net. The film, website and email list are part of an effort to spread awareness about, and solidarity with, social movements in Oaxaca.
During January through March of 2007, Sedillo was in Oaxaca to facilitate the co-production of “El Machete: La Lucha por el Poder Popular.” Sedillo brought donations of media equipment for use in the production and editing of the film and ongoing video projects in Oaxaca. El Machete was filmed and edited by indigenous women and youth from rural communities in Oaxaca and documents the daily struggles for land, water, transportation, culture, dignity, justice, liberty, and peace.
Our fundraising strategy is based on contributing media resources to some of Oaxaca’s most remote indigenous farmworker communities. The organizations we are directly contributing to are CODEP-APPO (Committee Organized in Defense of the People’s Rights — Comité de Defensa de los Derechos del Pueblo) and COMPA (Oaxacan Popular Magonista Antineoliberal Coordination — Coordinación Oaxaca Magonista Popular Antineoliberal). If you would like to support this ongoing work, please consider making an online monetary donation. For donations of $15 or more, we will send you a free DVD copy of El Enemigo Común as a gift for your generous donation.
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For further reading/media on the topics covered in these films:
Oaxaca, México:
- Austin Indymedia Presents: El Enemigo Comun
- Governor Ulises Ruiz; 6 months of harvesting terror in Oaxaca
- Benefit for Indigenous Farmworker’s Resistance in Oaxaca, Mexico
- Oaxacan Activist Released: The Campaign Continues
- OAXACA MEXICO: URGENT ACTION REQUESTED
Links to Media:
