Newport Beach Film Festival 2008

A tragic social paradox lingers at the core of Bolivia's Chapare region, where - despite 70,000 families whose lives and economic stability depend upon the cultivation of the coca leaf - the militaristic government has outlawed its industrialization with the blessing and economic support of the United States. In time, as one proposed "peaceful" solution" after another has fallen through, the 'clamp-downs' have understandably prompted widespread protests from local citizenry and violent clashes with police factions. In "Coca Lives," filmmaker Roberto Lanza travels inside of this delicate situation, searches for a viable solution to end the tumult, and questions the widely-held notion that a direct link exists between these social ills and cocaine smuggling.