Expanding Sanctuary
Crossing the Border
•
20m
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 tells a rarely seen story of resilience, tracing the Latinx immigrant community’s successful fight to protect families and change legislation against a backdrop of systemic injustice.
At the heart of the film is a personal journey of transformation. What begins as a woman’s quest to bring her mother to the United States for her wedding evolves into a profound awakening. As she works with the immigrant rights organization Juntos, she discovers her voice, power, and agency, channeling her initial hope for personal connection into a larger purpose. Her newfound role as an organizer not only redefines her life but strengthens her entire community’s fight for justice, illuminating the extraordinary potential of collective action and solidarity.
Up Next in Crossing the Border
-
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...
