Students Act Out Their Hopes for the Dream Act

How is it that a rather conventional documentary by a first-time feature filmmaker from Oregon managed to sell out the house at the Texas Union Theater on a Friday night, when there's so much other entertainment to be had in Austin?

Credit goes to an unconventional grass-roots distribution strategy, the power of social media and the great interest many Austinites share in the hot topic of rights for undocumented immigrants. The occasion was the local premiere of the film, Papers, which looks at the struggles facing the 65,000 American students who each year graduate high school without documents of citizenship and so lack any career path.  Without papers, they are denied the right to drive a car or to get a job. In some states it is difficult, if not impossible, for these student to attend college. It makes one pause to appreciate the privileges enjoyed by many of us while others want.

Young people are the focus of this activist film project, both in front of the camera and behind the camera.  And Graham Street Productions taught the art of film making to students and involved them in every aspect of the production.  Started by three young people who were mentored by Anne Galisky, the director and Rebecca Shine, the producer, El Grupo Juvenil was has grown to now include some five hundred young filmmakers.

Five students are interviewed extensively about their hopes and fears for their future. With varied backgrounds and academic potential, they include a  Guatemalan-American, a Jamaican-American, two Mexican-Americans and a Korean-American--three boys (one gay) and two girls (one of whom is only shown in irritatingly extreem close-up and from behind). Perhaps the tight shots of her eyes and nose were designed to protect her identity. These brave kids take the risk of arrest, detention and deportation to countries they do not even remember in order to bring to light some of the plight of the two million undocumented children in the U.S. today.  They struggle with enormous challenges that cause them to suffer isolation and depression. The film attempts to be a story of coming of age, overcoming obstacles and taking on the struggles life brings to each of us, but its message is clearly political.

The narrative style is a predictable mix of talking head interviews with the students, mixed with interviews with educators, activists, lawmakers and archival news clips. We miss seeing the kids interact with their families or in their ethnic communities. Not much storyline is given, other than to relate the on-again, off-again drive to overhaul the nation’s immigration laws. And newspaper clippings reveal the heartbreak when one girl's family is torn apart by deportation. She misses graduation as is forced to return to the country of her birth though she doesn't even speak its language. Despite the grim outlook for these paperless children, the film ends on a hopeful note as students from around the country gather in the nation's capital to demonstrate in support of the Dream Act. If enacted by Congress, this reform would provide a path to citizenship to undocumented students who go on to college or serve in the military.

The film has been shown so far in 20 states, as part of a 50-state rollout. Groups in schools, colleges, faith-based organizations and networks that support immigration policy reform and human rights may rent and show it to their members. It's not likely to convert those who are opposed to immigration reform; it preaches to the choir. It is, however, inspiring conversation about immigration issues. It is hoped that that hearing these poignant personal stories may influence our political leaders. The website for the film, www.papersthemovie.com, provides a forum for fundraising and through which undocumented students everywhere can connect with one another, tell their stories and give voice to their dreams for a better future.

--Karen Kreps reviewed films for Boxoffice magazine 1980-1993 and now blogs at TrueIntimacies.com and NetIngenuity.com.