Habilto: Debt for Life

Habilto: Debt for Life

Directed by Chuck Sturtevant

Overview

Genre
Anthropology, Environment, Investigation, Human Rights, and Politics
Synopsis

From trading of mortgage-backed securities on Wall Street to debt peonage systems in the most peripheral areas, debt is essential to the operations of the modern world. This film explores a system of debt peonage in the Bolivian Amazon – known locally as “habilito” – and the extraction of precious hardwoods from the Mosetén indigenous lands. The film focuses on social relations between lenders and borrowers; cultural conceptions of savings and exchange; and the role of outside actors including the state and NGO’s.

Stage
finished
Running time
51 minutes

Credits

Production Details

Prod. Co.
Chapapeado Productions
Country
Bolivia
Years of Production
2010
Locations
Bolivia

Distribution Details

Release year
2010
Festivals
Society for Visual Anthropology Film & Media Festival, Montreal, 2011 FFELCCO Festival de Cine Obrero, Bolivia, 2011 Festival de Cine Verde, Bolivia, 2011
Distribution
Now Available from the Royal Anthropological Institute.
Language
Spanish
Subtitles
English

Photos

6db0ad6a6cf61a83a664cd89faebc9f9

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