INDOCUMENTALES/UNDOCUMENTARIES

Credit: www.pbs.org/pov/farmingville/

Our second film of the Borderlands Community Film Series was Farmingville. The film highlighted the tensions of the town after Mexican day laborers began to be employed in the community. Unfortunately the clash led to the savage beating of two undocumented workers. The film offered various perspectives over the issue of immigration which helped greatly in discussing the film. After the film, our general discussion was dominated with questions about how should immigrant populations be integrated into the country. Also towards the end of the film, it was mentioned that a new wave of immigrants from Mexico City had arrived in Farmingville. As a result, tensions emerged between the first wave and the newly arrived wave. The audience had a difficulty understand why there were hostilities between the groups.  I had to explain that even though they were Mexican, the first group came from a rural background while the new wave came from the inner-city. In other words, the tension that existed in Mexico between the groups reemerged in Farmingville. Overall the film was received well by the audience.

Credit: www.cinelatino.com/

It was February 2, 2012 that the UA Center for Latin American Studies screened the film Mi Vida Dentro . Our venue is located on the south-side of Tucson at the Pueblo Center. Primarily, our goal is to reconnect with the south-side community through the Borderlands Community Film Series. The film, Mi Vida Dentro , caused several of our viewers to shake their heads in disappointment. After the film ended we held an open discussion for general questions. Even though the film was mostly in Spanish without subtitles, our viewers understood the message. The questions that dominated the discussion pertained to legal and cultural issues. For example, if an illegal immigrant was in need of help should they call emergency services. Although they are entitled to this right most will not for fear of being deported. Furthermore, our viewers were appalled by the prosecutor’s racist remarks while she was addressing the jury. To be specific, it was her comment about Mexicans being smarter than they looked. Overall the viewers enjoyed the film and left home questioning the U.S. justice system.

Photo credit: http://www.389miles.com/

The Indocumentales film series will be launched in Tucson, Arizona in Spring 2012 as part of the Borderlands Community Film Series. The UA Center for Latin American Studies (CLAS) was awarded a Arizona Humanities Council grant to run this series. The films will be screened at the El Pueblo Neighborhood Center and the Harkins Spectrum Theater in South Tucson in late 2011 and spring 2012. The series kicked off in September 2011 with a screening of Los Que Se Quedan/Those Who Remain (Carlos Hagermann, Carlos Rulfo).

CLAS is working with the Hanson Film Institute and the Consulado de Mexico en Tucson to screen films and encourage a dialogue about the issues the films explore. The events will include discussions with filmmakers or experts and are completely free and open to the public.

Luis Carlos Davis, Filmmaker "389 Miles: Living the Border"

The series will include several films by local filmmakers focusing on regional border issues. In October 2011, the Borderlands Film Festival screened 389 Miles: Living the Border, featuring a Q&A with film director Luis Carlos Davis. The film is a documentary that addresses the current immigration debate taking place on the Arizona-Mexico border. It is a human journey, a story documented by director/producer Luis Carlos Davis who grew up in the shadow of the Arizona-Mexico border. It presents the raw, daily life of human beings who come from different backgrounds and ideologies when it comes to immigration. One of the few things they all have in common is the border fence, steel wall or a strands of rusty barbed wire.

Listen to the Audio archive of Americas Society screening of Elvira

Still from “ELVIRA,” a film by Javier Solórzano Casarín, Mexico, 65 min. 2009

On December 20, 2011 Americas Society hosted the New York premiere and screening of ELVIRA (Javier Solórzano Casarín2009). The Mexican documentary film ELVIRA tells the story of Elvira Arellano, an undocumented mother that became an well known activist for migrants rights. A panel discussion was moderated by Shamina de Gonzaga, co-founder of what moves you? The panel included the Mexican filmmaker as well as the Executive Director of Families for Freedom (who were involved in the support of Elvira Arellano’s case).  The discussion opened a dialogue about the role of migrant activism and the role of cinema in activism, both particularly relevant topics given the Occupy Wall Street movement in NYC and around the world.

On December 14th, NYU CLACS Outreach Program hosted a screening and discussion with area educators on the film Which Way Home. This was the second event in December for area educators. Which Way Home, a 2009 film by Rebecca Cammisa, focuses on immigrant children from Honduras, El Salvador and Mexico, who must overcome tremendous odds in their journey to the U.S.

The discussion, facilitated by Shamina de Gonzaga and Gala Narezo of what moves you?, opened a dialogue focusing on how teachers might use the film to teach on topics of migration, the challenges that children face on journeys between countries, and connections between the lives of the kids in their classroom with those of the kids shown in the film.

Many teachers commented on particular video clips that might be useful for their classroom. The group also speculated on the fate of the children in the film, a discussion that may be particularly relevant to open in classrooms. Following the release of the film, the NY Times followed up on one of the kids in the film who gained asylum in the US.

The Indocumentales program Resources page includes links to a UW-Madison website featuring commentary and resources on Which Way Home.

On December 5th, NYU CLACS Outreach Program hosted a screening and discussion with area educators on the film Farmingville. The aim of the event was to build ongoing education programming for the Indocumentales project, provide a space for networking among educators interested in teaching topics related to immigration, and disseminate resources that might be useful for teaching these themes in NYC classrooms.

The film was followed by comments by Professor Judy Hellman, CLACS Visiting Professor and Professor of Anthropology at York University in Canada. She is the author of author of The World of Mexican Migrants and Mexican Lives. Hellman made connections between  economic and political change in Mexico he growth of undocumented migration to the United States, which affected communities such as Farmingville, NY.

The discussion, facilitated by Shamina de Gonzaga and Gala Narezo of what moves you?, then opened up to explore ways this film might be taught in classrooms. Teachers offered feedback on clips that are particularly relevant, challenges they may face in teaching these controversial topics, and opportunities to make linkages to existing curriculum.

Farmingville, a 2004 film by Carlos Sandoval and Catherine Tambini, documents the attempted murders of two Mexican day-laborers in Long Island. The movie features first-hand accounts from residents, day-laborers and activists, and underscores the continuing relevance of undocumented immigrant issues.

The Indocumentales program Resources page includes links to PBS teaching materials for Farmingville. The PBS site also has a video interview with the films directors, Carlos Sandoval and Catherine Tambini. The POV materials also gave rise to the Farmingville Campaign, a project of Active Voice which aims to help communities begin or deepen discussions about immigration, racism, national identity and the democratic process.

Indocumentales Film Series includes MI VIDA DENTRO, a documentary about Rosa Estela Olera Jiménez, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico who is convicted of killing a 21 month year old boy under her care.  This past December Judge Baird ruled that Rosa be granted a new trial.  According to an Austin Chronicle article:

[Rosa's new lawyer] Bryce Benjet argued several claims in his writ – including that Jimenez should be declared innocent, that prosecutorial misconduct marred the original trial, and that Jimenez was denied due process because she was not given access to funds to hire her own experts to testify at her 2005 trial, where she had ineffective legal representation.

Baird disagreed that Jimenez should be granted relief based on actual innocence or on prosecutorial misconduct claims but agreed she should be given relief based on her due process and ineffective assistance claims. … Baird’s ruling now goes to the Court of Criminal Appeals, which will decide whether to affirm his ruling and grant Jimenez relief.

As of the date of this post, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has not yet made a decision.