2011-2012 Go Big Read: Enrique's Journey : Films & Documentaries
Related Films Held at UW Libraries
There are several more documentaries and feature films on the topic of immigration from Latin America. Some of the ones held at UW-Madison Libraries are listed below. Click on the title to go to the library record to find the call number and the library in which it is located.
Director: Tin Dirdamal
Production: US, 2007
Length: 80 min. In Spanish with English subtitles
Follow one man as he leaves behind everything in Central America. With little sense of direction and only his family's memories as company, he faces the dangers in Mexico while trying to reach the United States.
Sin Nombre
Director: Amy Kaufman
Production: US, 2009
Length: 96 min. In Spanish with English and French subtitles
Honduran teenager Sayra reunites with her father, an opportunity for her to potentially realize her dream of a life in the U.S. Moving to Mexico is the first step in a fateful journey of unexpected events.
The Sixth Section
Director: Alex Rivera
Production: US, 2003
Length: 27 min. In Spanish and English with English subtitles
<face="arial,helvetica,geneva,swiss,sunsans-regular">Groundbreaking documentary that blends digital animation, home video, cinema verité, and interview footage to depict the transnational organizing of a community of Mexican immigrants in New York.
Sleep Dealer
Director: Alex Rivera
Production: US, 2009
Length: 90 min. In Spanish and English with optional English and Spanish subtitles
Set in a near-future, militarized world marked by closed borders, virtual labor and a global digital network that joins minds and experiences, three strangers risk their lives to connect with each other and break the barriers of technology.
Train of Death (Soon to be added to UW-Madison Catalog)
Correspondent Mariana van Zeller visits a shelter for those who've been maimed in falls from the train, and follows a group of young female Salvadorans willing to risk everything they have to make it to America, where they hope to find jobs and send money back home to their families.
About the documentary
Director: Rebecca Camisa
Production: US, 2009
Length: 83 min. In Spanish and English with English subtitles
“Of the thousands of Latin American migrants traveling through Mexico with the hope of reaching the United States, approximately five percent are unaccompanied children. Director Rebecca Cammisa follows several such children on their grueling but ever-hopeful journey north. Kevin and Fito have fled their small town in search of greater opportunities in America. José set out for the States but was quickly apprehended and now languishes in the bureaucratic process of deportation back to Honduras. These are just a few of the true stories of young children undertaking the brutal odyssey from Latin America to the United States, never letting their dire circumstances overtake their youthful exuberance. In this bold, revelatory documentary, Cammisa presents a harrowing tale of children in danger, riding on tops of freight trains and subject to conditions beyond the capacity of their tender years to navigate. But this is also a story of indefatigable youth, of children of very young age pursuing the only outlet for opportunity they perceive, and of the many allies and adversaries they encounter along the way.” – Tribeca Film Festival.
Essential Themes:
- Unaccompanied immigrant children
- Central American and Mexican immigration to the U.S.
Background Information:
“The film follows several unaccompanied child migrants as they journey through Mexico en route to the U.S. on a freight train they call " The Beast." Director Rebecca Cammisa ("Sister Helen") tracks the stories of children like Olga and Freddy, nine-year old Hondurans who are desperately trying to reach their families in Minnesota, and Jose, a ten-year-old El Salvadoran who has been abandoned by smugglers and ends up alone in a Mexican detention center, and focuses on Kevin, a canny, streetwise 14-year-old Honduran, fleeing an abusive stepfather, and whose mother hopes that he will reach New York City and send money back to his family. These are stories of hope and courage, disappointment and sorrow. They are the ones you never hear about - the invisible ones.” –Bullfrogfilms.com
On the web: