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Why does the United States currently have an immigration crisis on our Southern borders?
In order to answer this question, the filmmakers traveled to the U.S. border five times, beginning in 2012, to walk the desert and interview humanitarian groups, social workers, legal professionals, the undocumented, and anti-immigration protesters. The film also seeks to provide a variety of responses to other questions on the topic, such as:
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Translation of Story
from Page to Screen The documentary is based on a scholarly book by the same name, Trails of Hope and Terror (c) 2009 Orbis Books, now in its second printing, and is a collection of testimonies from activists and undocumented immigrants concerning their difficulties in migrating to the U.S. The author of the book, Dr. Miguel A. De La Torre, Professor of Social Ethics and Latinx Studies at the Iliff School of Theology is the film’s screenwriter. De La Torre's numerous books, articles and speaking engagements on the topic of immigration has made him a recognized expert on the topic. The film attempts to elucidate why they come. Special care was taken so as not to speak for the undocumented as if they were objects, but rather, to provide a space for them to speak for themselves, and for allies to speak in solidarity with them. Although the testimonies recorded in the film are from different individuals that appear in the book, the under girding theme remain the same. |
Trails of Hope and Terror the movie has been a work in progress since 2012. The content and story of the film has developed over time, including the incorporation of new historical events relevant to the subject matter. Screenings of partial versions of the film have been held in various humanitarian, faith-based, academic and classroom settings throughout the country, and have received positive reviews. Although the project remains to-date a work in progress, it is finally nearing completion.
These work-in-progress screenings have included: Denver, CO - Apr 20, 2016 - Iliff School of Theology Davidson, NC - Mar 23, 2016 - Davidson College Cambridge, MA - Apr 3, 2016 - First Parish Cambridge, Unitarian Universalist Church Seattle, WA - Feb 20, 2016 - Seattle First Baptist Church San Antonio, TX - Feb 11, 2016 - Our Lady of the Lake University Salt Lake City, UT - Oct 17, 2015 - Parliament of World Religions Silver Springs, MD - Nov 14, 2015 - Unitarian Universalist Church of Silver Spr Denver, CO - Sept 30, 2015 - University of Denver Highlands Ranch, CO - Sept 11, 2015 - St. Andrew United Methodist Church Portland, OR - Jun 25, 2015 - Unitarian Universalist General Assembly Dodge City, KS - May 17, 2015 - First United Methodist Church Wichita, KS - May 16, 2015 - Pleasant Valley United Methodist Church Gering, NE - May 8, 2015 - First United Methodist Church New York City, NY - April 25, 2015 at 1:30 pm - Middle Collegiate Church Denver, CO - April 17, 2015 - Society of Race, Ethnicity, and Religion Louisville, KY - April 13 - Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary New Britain, CT - April 8, 2015 - Central Connecticut State University Waterford, CT - April 7, 2015 - Connecticut College New Haven, CT - April 6, 2015 - Unidad Latina en Acción de New Haven Santa Barbara, CA - March 20, 2015 - Immaculate Heart Community Fresno, CA - February 19, 2015 (private screening), Fresno Pacific University Culver City, CA - January 28, 2015 - Antioch University Denver, CO - Jan 20, 2015 - Iliff School of Theology Chicago, IL - January 10, 2015 - Society of Christian Ethics Annual Meeting Tucson, AZ - December 4th, 2014 - No More Deaths San Diego, CA - November 22, 2014 - American Academy of Religion Cleveland, OH - November 15, 2014 - McCreary Center for African-American Religious Studies Denver, CO - November 4th, 2014 - DU Latino Center for Community Engagement and Scholarship (DULCES) |
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