El Sueño
We are producing a documentary film, El Sueño / The Dream (working title), with Americas Media Initiative, about immigration in Chicago, currently funded by two Chicago-based foundations. This film offers a unique opportunity to document an unprecedented moment in U.S. immigration history: Chicago—a sanctuary city—now in the crosshairs of the Trump Administration and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
The individuals we have been following for more than a year include a Chicago alderman whose parents immigrated from Guatemala and who has been deeply involved in immigrant rights; a Peruvian immigrant father and his daughter, a medical student assisting immigrant families with access to healthcare; and a newly arrived Venezuelan family working to build a new life in Chicago.
We have documented, in depth, the rollout of ICE operations across the city, including protests at the Broadview ICE Processing Center; community actions confronting ICE as agents attempt to detain neighbors; and local elected officials speaking out and organizing efforts to protect immigrant communities and provide critical “Know Your Rights” information.
In addition, we have been in virtual conversation with individuals who were illegally detained and deported while in the process of applying for refugee status or citizenship—people whose lives were abruptly upended, forcing them to leave their homes and families with no clear understanding of when, or if, they will be allowed to return.
The Trump Administration’s immigration policies in Chicago have also galvanized communities in unexpected and energizing ways, forging new alliances across broad swaths of the city—groups that may never have worked together before this moment. A recent Chicago Magazine article highlights select images from our work. 
ICE UNDER WATCH: MEDIA & COMMUNITY RESISTANCE
45-Min Discussion Following Screening
ICE Under Watch
Speak Truth
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Panelists and Special Guests: Moderated by Senator Celina Villanueva, Fred Tsao (Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights), Amanda Hwu (Illinois Community Power Fund), filmmakers Andrew Freer, Carlos Javier Ortiz, Alexandra Halkin and Ysa Quiballo.
Community Partners: Lincoln Square Friendship Center
Audience Activation: Panel conversation on the power of media, collective organizing and solidarity in times of heightened enforcement and resistance. Audience members will have the chance to connect with local organizations to examine strategic, principled forms of protest in response to escalating ICE enforcement and how to help those affected.
Over the last year, federal agents, including those from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), have violently descended on American cities, most prominently in Minneapolis, where two U.S. citizens were killed. But the scars of last fall’s Operation “Midway Blitz” in Chicago are still blistering. While phone-camera videos bore witness to the injustices, this collection of short works by Chicago-based documentary filmmakers offer context and humanity to the events that have unfolded.
Scott’s Story, Eva’s Story and Marimar’s Story, directed by Andrew Freer, provide startling testimonies from those who have been personally impacted by ICE. From production unit Truth and Documentary, Kidnapping is Not a Career shows what happens when DHS shows up at a Chicago job fair, and Sawyer and Sunnyside is a harrowing compilation of bodycam footage, documenting in real time a violent confrontation that took place in Albany Park. Photographer and filmmaker Carlos Javier Ortiz and Producer Alexandra Halkin will also unveil a selection from their immigration documentary El Sueño.
