South of the Border

There’s a revolution underway in South America, but most of the
world doesn’t know it. Clearly frustrated by the half-truths and
sensationalistic tone adopted by the U.S. right-wing media (Fox
News, in particular) when reporting on South America, Oliver Stone’s documentary on the politics of the region can be read as a rebuttal of sorts.

Stone sets out on a road trip across five countries from the
Caribbean down the spine of the Andes in an attempt to explain
the "phenomenon" of Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez, and
account for the continent’s "pink tide" leftward tilt. A key feature is also Venezuela’s recent Bolivarian revolution and Latin America’s
political progress in the 21st century. He explores the social and
political movements as well as the mainstream media’s misperception of South America while interviewing seven of its elected presidents.

Stone gains unprecedented access and sheds new light upon
the exciting transformations in the region through casual
conversations with Presidents Hugo Chávez (Venezuela), Evo Morales (Bolivia), Lula da Silva (Brazil), Cristina Kirchner (Argentina), as well as her husband and ex-President Nestor Kirchner, Fernando Lugo (Paraguay), Rafael Correa (Ecuador), and Raúl Castro (Cuba).

Clearly not resting on his laurels as an acclaimed feature drama
director. Stone turns his attention to documentary making and the power of documentaries to make social comment and change.