Everyone Their Grain of Sand (2005) User Reviews

Starts slow, but provides excellent insight into life on globalization's fringe.

[lurking44 · 7/10 · 5 March 2007]

Wow! The first 25 minutes of the film set the stage for an incredible story; that of the residents of Maclovio Rojas. Beth Bird, the filmmaker, shows the wall between California and Tijuana. On the wall are dozens of crosses symbolizing the life of each person who died in an attempt to emigrate to the United States. Ms. Bird then begins to introduce the audience to the setting of Maclovio Rojas, a plot of land on the outskirts of Tijuana. Small parcels of land were given to poor Mexicans that needed a free place to build a home. This area is disputed; the state government seems to be pushing for the residents to leave so that industrial development can take place on the same land they are squatting on. Maclovio Rojas residents refuse to be bullied; they build their own primary school and build makeshift infrastructure to supply themselves with electricity and water. The organize and demand basic recognition and services from the state government only to be met with police arrests and political stagnation.