Crossing the Border

Crossing the Border

A collection of documentaries about the dangers Mexican and Central American migrants face while trying to reach the southern border of the United States. It is a perilous journey and only some manage to cross over into the United States.

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Crossing the Border
  • Sin País (Without Country)

    Directed by Theo Rigby • Documentary • 2011 • 20 minutes

    Sin País (Without Country) attempts to get beyond the partisan politics and mainstream media’s ‘talking point’ approach to immigration issues by exploring one family’s complex and emotional journey involving deportation.

  • Vida Diferida (Life, Deferred)

    Directed by Brenda Ávila-Hanna • Documentary • 2017 • 23 minutes

    After the announcement of the policy known as "Deferred Action", Vanessa, an undocumented teenager, contemplates the possibility of a future she was ready to give up on. How will this life-changing opportunity impact her life and t...

  • Expanding Sanctuary

    Directed by Kristal Sotomayor • Documentary • With Linda Hernandez • 2023 • 21 minutes

    An immigrant mother becomes an unexpected community leader during a groundbreaking campaign to end the Philadelphia police’s data-sharing with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Expanding Sanctuary tel...

  • Las Abogadas: Attorneys on the Front Lines of the Migrant Crisis

    Directed by Victoria Bruce • Documentary • 2022 • 92 minutes

    The first Trump administration tried to shut down immigration to the United States, and even with no changes to the actual law, they nearly succeeded. Things didn't get much better when Biden came into office. But activist lawyers, mos...

  • Soledad

    Directed by Lisa Molomot • Documentary • 2020 • 24 minutes

    Soledad tells the story of a young woman from Central America who was imprisoned in the Eloy Detention Facility when she sought asylum in the United States. Soledad set out on a perilous journey from her homeland after enduring horrific ...

  • Stop Time

    Directed by Kate Way • Documentary • 2022 • 50 minutes

    Stop Time tells the story of Lucio Pérez—a father, husband and worker who took sanctuary in a Massachusetts church for over three years in defiance of a deportation order. Lucio’s moving narrative provides a window into the forces that broug...

  • Al Otro Lado (To the Other Side)

    Directed by Natalia Almada • Documentary • 2005 • 70 minutes

    The proud Mexican tradition of corrido music—captured in the performances of Mexican band Los Tigres del Norte and the late Chalino Sanchez—provides both heartbeat and backbone to this rich examination of songs, drugs and dreams along ...

  • Border South

    Directed by Raul O. Paz Pastrana • Documentary • 2020 • 82 minutes

    To stem the immigration tide, Mexico and the U.S. collaborate to crack down on migrants, forcing them into ever more dangerous territory.

    Every year hundreds of thousands of migrants make their way along the trail running from s...

  • What Remains on the Way

    Directed by Jakob Krese, Danilo do Carmo • Documentary • With Lilian Florinda Hernández Lopez, Sergio Rigoberto Lopez Hernández, Blanca Lilian Lopez Hernández, Victor Noe Lopez Hernández, Anali Floridalma Lopez Hernández, Ana-Maria Escobar, Wilson Antonio Funez, Carlos Irving Mondragón Prad, Iren...

  • From The Other Side (Chantal Akerman)

    Directed by Chantal Akerman • Documentary • 2002 • 99 minutes

    With her unmistakable style Chantal Akerman ("Arguably the most important European director of her generation."—J. Hoberman, The Village Voice) explores the border between the United States and Mexico.

    For years immigrants passed thr...

  • El Mar La Mar

    Directed by Joshua Bonnetta & J.P. Sniadecki • Documentary • 2017 • 94 minutes

    An immersive and enthralling journey through the Sonoran Desert on the U.S.-Mexico border, EL MAR LA MAR weaves together harrowing oral histories from the area with hand-processed 16mm images of flora, fauna and items...

  • Rocío

    Directed by Dario Guerrero • Documentary • 2022 • 60 minutes

    Weaving together footage from over a quarter of a century, Rocío follows the family of undocumented Mexican immigrant and Harvard University student Dario Guerrero as they struggle to stay together in the face of his mother's terminal ...

  • Western

    Directed by Bill Ross IV, Turner Ross • Documentary • With Chad Foster, Martin Wall, Brylyn Wall • 2015 • 92 minutes

    In Eagle Pass, Texas, where the U.S. and Mexico meet along the Rio Grande, a cattleman and the mayor face the dawn of a new reality. In the matter of a few turbulent months, the s...

  • Where Can We Live In Peace?

    Directed by Judy Jackson • Documentary • 2023 • 64 minutes

    WHERE CAN WE LIVE IN PEACE? investigates the migrant crisis through the eyes of Pastor Ignacio Martinez, the founder of ABBA safehouse in Celaya, Mexico. Here, thousands of migrants receive help.

    The idea for ABBA began when Ignacio and...