Trails of Hope and Terror

Trails of Hope and Terror is a 53-minute documentary that ends with the stories of two teenage girls, Sandra and Josseline. One encounters the border (La Frontera) by accident, and the other on purpose. But their journeys, along with the others we hear about in the film, began hundreds of years ago, as complicated political and economic strategies set up a vast system from which there is little hope of escape.

Manifest Destiny, the Mexican-American War, Gun-Boat Diplomacy, Banana Republics, NAFTA, Operation Gatekeeper. . . all of these political events led up to a system of "prevention through deterrence." In other words, if people were forced to cross a desert in where they were likely to die, then they might think twice about the risks.

The fact is, no one was deterred. In Trails of Hope and Terror, we will hear stories about the people whose families needed them. At the time, they felt it was the right thing to do. So they crossed anyway.

- Semi finalist Social World Film Festival 2017.

- Winner Cine Miami Fest 2017.

- Winner (In) Justice for All Film Festival 2017.

- Winner Mediterranean Film Festival Cannes 2016.

- Winner United Latino International Film Festival 2017.

- Finalist USA Film Festival 2017.

- Official Selection Marda Loop Justice Film Festival 2017.

- Official Selection Respect Belfast Human Rights Film Festival 2017.

- Official Selection SR Socially Relevant Film Festival New York 2017.

- Official Selection Georgia Latino Film Festival 2017.

- Official Selection Long Beach Indie International Film Festival 2017.

- Official Selection Equality International Film Festival 2017.

- Official Selection Immigration Film Fest 2017.

- Official Selection I Will Tell International Film Festival 2017.

- Official Selection Viva! Latino Film Festival NYC International 2017.

- Official Selection Albuquerque Film & Music Experience 2017.

- Official Selection San Francisco Latino Film Festival 2017.

- Official Selection Social Justice Film Festival 2017.