“The Infiltrators”
A Must see – premieres May 1
In the opening of the movie “The Infiltrators” there is a voice over that says “’Undocumented,’ ‘illegal,’ I really don’t care what you call it…they’re just different words for ‘afraid.'” The fear is that at any moment an ICE raid could tear their families apart.
About a decade ago I was dating a guy who was here illegally. To protect his identity I will not say what country he was from, but I will say he was very macho, and I did not have any ideas of his fears. That was until one day when I got a call from him, and he was crying. I asked what’s wrong, and he said the police are in his complex and they are going to take him and deport him. I jumped in my car and drove to his place, and found out the police were not there for him. When I entered his apartment, he was still shaking and his eyes were filled with tears. It wasn’t until that moment that I realized how I take my freedom for granted. There are thousands of undocumented people here in Florida…afraid every day.
The Infiltrators is a docu-thriller by directors, and husband-and-wife team, Alex Rivera and Cristina Ibarra, that tells the true story of young immigrants who are detained by border patrol, and thrown into a shadowy for-profit detention center—on purpose. Marco and Viri are members of the National Immigrant Youth Alliance, a group of radical DREAMers who are on a mission to stop unjust deportations. And the best place to stop deportations, they believe, is in detention. However, when Marco and Viri attempt a daring reverse ‘prison break,’ things don’t go according to plan. By weaving together documentary footage of the real infiltrators with re-enactments of the events inside the detention center, The Infiltrators tells an incredible and thrilling true story in a genre-defying new cinematic language.
The 700-bed (600 men and 100 women) Broward Transitional Center was promoted like it was a comfortable place for those detained by ICE, waiting to see what happens with their case. In truth, it was like a prison where they could be held for years with no contact with the outside world, unless you took a job which paid $1 a day (you read that correctly), and the privilege of getting visitors. The center is run by a for profit company, George Zoley’s GEO Group, which meant every extra day the detainees spent there more taxpayer money went to George. This documentary takes place before the election of Donald Trump and the acceleration of immigration fears on a national level.
The Broward Transitional Center advocates for real human suffering, which is a reason in itself for the abolishment of ICE.
This is a movie that need to be off the festival circuit and be mainstream. At the very least, it should be a must see for everyone living in Broward, so that they know this is happening right in their backyard.
The Infiltrators is 95 minutes in length (Language: English and Spanish with English Subtitles), and had its World Premiere at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival and was the winner of the Audience Award: NEXT, and NEXT Innovator Prize. It also won the 2020 Cinema Tropical Award for Best U.S. Latinx Film.
The Nationwide Virtual Cinema release of The Infiltrators is Friday, May 1, and it comes to VOD June 2.
Coral Gables Art Cinema
http://www.gablescinema.com/programs/virtual-screening-room/
Savor Cinema, Fort Lauderdale
O Cinema South Beach
https://www.o-cinema.org/venue/virtual-cinema/
