Film: Walk with Us || Teatro Santa Ana at La Biblioteca

Join us for the world premiere of a new documentary that looks at the migrant crisis through the eyes of Pastor Ignacio Martinez, the founder of ABBA house in Celaya, (which is supported by Caminamos Juntos, The Latin American Relief Fund, the Traintracks project, and many expats in San Miguel).

We learn that it all started when Ignacio found out that there were many hungry and tired Central American migrants waiting to catch trains at the railway tracks. He and his family started to take them food, but soon discovered how great their needs were. Some of the migrants were sick, none had a place to wash, and most also needed clothing. So he founded ABBA, the Celaya safe house where migrants can stay for three nights and receive food, medical help and legal advice.

The film shows the huge gap between President Trumps’ description of migrants as rapists and criminals and the sad reality that most are seeking to escape the abject poverty and gang violence of their countries — El Salavador, Honduras, and Guatemala. The powerful rulers in these countries are enmeshed in unbelievable levels of corruption, yet these same governments have received backing from the US for decades.

In a world now dominated by nationalism and xenophobia, Ignacio explains how important it is that we walk alongside these migrants who dream of securing safe futures for their families. “What do they want?” he says, “a home, work, food, and education and a future for their children. They want exactly what we want.”

After the half hour screening of this documentary-in-progress, Pastor Ignacio Martinez and his daughter Abril, (a trained psychologist who works alongside him) will be available for a questions and answer session along with Judy Jackson, one of the films’ directors.

Judy Jackson has made over 100 documentary films in many places around the world. Her life was threatened several times whilst covering human rights violations (torture, disappearance, extrajudicial execution) of various dictatorships (Pinochet’s Chile, Argentina’s Dirty War, Guatemala’s 1980’s genocide, the Rwandan genocide, and Kosovo). She has also made many documentaries through the years about refugees and migrants.

Dennis Lanson has made award-winning documentaries and a feature film. He has taught film and video at many colleges (Brooklyn, Cal Arts, NYU, and Boston Unviversity).  He is also an author and a playwright.