Making the circuit of current film festivals across the country and around the world is a 65-minute piece titled La Americana. The documentary looks at the case of one Bolivian who immigrated to the U.S. illegally, why she did and the price she paid to support her ailing daughter. It is a story repeated thousands of times in thousands of different ways throughout the country.
“I think every immigrant’s story is different and I think we’ve painted it with a broad brush,” said director Nicholas Bruckman. “In the short time it’s been showing, immigrants have been coming up to us at screenings and saying, ‘Thanks for telling my story.’ That reaction made us feel we are telling a universal story. Of course every case is different, but over and over people have come up to me and said I came because my daughter, my nephew, my mother was ill or because a relative of mine is in jail and the system is corrupt and there’s no money in the family to bail them out. The idea is people come for extenuating circumstances and not income – especially from undeveloped countries.”
Chances are the most virulent critics and prosecutors of illegal immigration would make the very same choices if only they were wearing the immigrant’s shoes. How can anyone not understand the human drive to do whatever it takes to take care of family – even if it means crossing an international border furtively?
“When you’re in the position of having to leave your family behind, in a position where you need to travel, often laws and borders will not prevent you from doing what you need to do for your family,” Bruckman said. “That’s one of the key messages of the film.”
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