Documentary | 01 January 1995

Martin Sheen

"Just before dawn on New Year's Day 1994, armed Mayan Indians declared war on the government. They immediately seized eight towns in Chiapas and set in motion events that ripped away a facade of prosperity and stability to reveal 'the other Mexico'. They demanded land, public services and Indian autonomy - the right to communally own and farm land. They called themselves the Zapatista Army of National Liberation (EZLN). This documentary features in-depth interviews with people from the EZLN, among them Subcommandante Marcos. THE SIXTH SUN portrays an epic confrontation pitting impoverished peasants against large landowners and government forces in Mexico poorest state, Chiapas. The film raises important questions as to what is to be judged expendable in the rush to global economic integration - whether the destruction of whole peoples and cultures that have survived over centuries is simply to be accepted as the price of 'progress'.