ABOUT

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.