Chapter 5 of 8 - WHERE HAVE ALL THE FLOWERS GONE?
- 16 years ago
For many reasons I can't tell you how we met Anna, except that she worked around the corner from where Bill and Joel used to work.
As I mention in the film, I'm a first generation Mexican immigrant. And a proud one too. But I'm also one of the few that can call myself legal. So I've always been sensitive to the way people talk about the "immigration issue". But for the first time since I can remember, I had two other non-immigrant friends asking tough questions as to why the immigration issue is where it is today.
There are no easy answers as to how to solve the immigration issue. But after seeing Anna's eyes light up as she walked up to the ocean, we knew someone had to tell her story.
Everyday we hear the Bill O'Reilly's of the world talk about how illegal immigrants shouldn't be allowed to stay here because, in short: they don't pay taxes, they steal good-paying jobs from Americans, and they are tarnishing the American way of life. All of which are debatable. But after the emotional experience of standing at the Tijuana border wall, we wanted to get the other side of the story- to try to see it through the eyes of an Immigrant. For a chance that one day, someone, somewhere, would see this film and (perhaps) be affected by it...
As I mention in the film, I'm a first generation Mexican immigrant. And a proud one too. But I'm also one of the few that can call myself legal. So I've always been sensitive to the way people talk about the "immigration issue". But for the first time since I can remember, I had two other non-immigrant friends asking tough questions as to why the immigration issue is where it is today.
There are no easy answers as to how to solve the immigration issue. But after seeing Anna's eyes light up as she walked up to the ocean, we knew someone had to tell her story.
Everyday we hear the Bill O'Reilly's of the world talk about how illegal immigrants shouldn't be allowed to stay here because, in short: they don't pay taxes, they steal good-paying jobs from Americans, and they are tarnishing the American way of life. All of which are debatable. But after the emotional experience of standing at the Tijuana border wall, we wanted to get the other side of the story- to try to see it through the eyes of an Immigrant. For a chance that one day, someone, somewhere, would see this film and (perhaps) be affected by it...