TWENTY-EIGHT 09/10 OFFICIAL FILM FESTIVAL SELECTIONS:
• Sydney Latin American Film Festival
• Festival do Rio
• New York International Latino Film Festival
• Festival De CIne De Bogota (Colombia)
• New Orleans Film Festival
• Dominican Republic Global Film Festival
• 24th Guadalajara International Film Festival
• Monterrey International Film Festival
• Expresión en Corto International Film Festival
• Newport Beach Film Festival
• Bermuda International Film Festival
• San Francisco Independent Film Festival
• Maine International Film Festival
• Wisconsin Film Festival
• 31st Cine Festival En San Antonio
• Connecticut Film Festival
• Mostra Internacional do Filme Etnográfico Rio de Janerio Brasil
• Camden International Film Festival
• Festival Chileno Internacional del Cortometraje de Santiago
• Sidewalk Moving Picture Festival
• Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival
• Queens International Film Festival
• Pan African Film & Arts Festival
• San Diego Latino Film Festival
• Rhode Island International Film Festival
• 36th Athens International Film + Video Festiva
(best documentary)
• Montezuma International Film Festival in Costa Rica
(best documentary nominee)
• Atlanta International Documentary Film Festival
(best cinematography)

Beauty of the Fight is John’s first documentary and photography book. The documentary Beauty of the Fight explores, with both intimate and exhilarating imagery, the effects of historic realities on two Panama barrios. Barraza and El Chorrillo suffered heavy losses when US forces invaded in 1989 in order to capture General Manuel Noriega. With deft footage—and under military police protection while entering Barraza’s dangerous “red zone”—filmmaker John Urbano captures in Beauty of the Fight not only the daily struggle but also the dignity, joy, and heightened awareness of its residents, even as this “interim” shantytown nears extinction due to recent outside private and commercial development. Boxers, cock fighters, gang bangers, street urchins, small business owners, family members, community leaders, and visionaries detail the day to day plight to hold on to homes and endure the loss of loved ones due to street conflicts while they also express the inevitable hopes of all peoples who fall victim to unconscious political and economic forces. The film also explores the vagaries of documenting a place and people.