Beth Bird's EVERYONE THEIR GRAIN OF SAND chronicles the struggles of the fiercely determined citizens of Maclovio Rojas, Tijuana, Mexico, as they battle the state government's attempts to evict them from their land to make way for corporate development. Over a three-year period, we follow the remarkably spirited and resourceful residents as they build a school by hand and persistently petition the state for such basic services as running water and pay for their teachers. The government responds with a combination of bureaucratic stonewalling and the systematic persecution of community leaders--eventually arresting one leader and forcing others into hiding, where they remain to this day. This heartbreaking and intimate documentary balances these hardships with glimpses of hard-won triumphs and the rhythm of daily life--an elementary school graduation or time at home with family--to remind us what the community is fighting for. The film provides a rare glimpse of the human cost of economic globalization in a part of the world where working people are valued only as cheap labor to fuel the profits of multinational corporations.
