The Infiltrators (2019)

A rag-tag group of undocumented youth - Dreamers - deliberately get detained by Border Patrol in order to infiltrate a shadowy, for-profit detention center.

Directors:

Cristina Ibarra, Alex Rivera

Writers:

Cristina Ibarra (story by), Alex Rivera (story by)

Stars:

Mohammad Abdollahi, Maynor Alvarado, Roman Arabia

4 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Mohammad Abdollahi	...	Self
Maynor Alvarado	...	Marco
Roman Arabia	...	Agent Vasquez
Scott Broderick	...	Officer Davis
Edward Conna	...	Guard (as Eddy Conna)
Jonathan De La Torre	...	Detainee
Luis Richard Gomez	...	Palencia
Valerie Hall	...	Deportee
Bella Zoe Martinez	...	Girl in bowling alley (as Bella Areffi)
Eddie Martinez	...	Prieto
Fernando Martinez	...	Morales
Viridiana Martinez	...	Self
Dennis Mencia	...	Samuel Soto
Dino Nicandros	...	Radym
Délé Ogundiran	...	Neema Mukun

Storyline

Marco and Viri are members of the National Immigrant Youth Alliance, a progressive arm of DREAMers determined to bring to light the unreported story of the targeted arrests, lengthy detentions, and deportations of undocumented immigrants without criminal records in the highly lucrative - and equally controversial - Broward County detention facility. Risking their own deportation, the two activists go undercover, orchestrating their own arrests, while covertly coordinating the legal release of immigrants detained by the privatized facility. Winner of both the 'NEXT Innovator' and 'Audience Award' at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival, THE INFILTRATORS weaves together documentary footage of the real infiltrators with moving re-enactments to tell the inspirational true story of young DREAMers tapping into the power of crowd-sourced activism while illustrating the need for compassion in the evolving dynamics of immigration reform.

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Plot Keywords:

dramatization | 

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Genres:

Drama

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User Reviews

A Provocative Film about Immigration Detention

The Infiltrators was well-received at its regional premiere at Austin's SXSW Film Festival. It is a provocative film about the efforts of undocumented activists to infiltrate the Broward Detention Center in Florida. These young people have taken the audacious step of getting themselves arrested so they can get inside detention facility and try to assist those inside the facility to get released. I can't decide if they are brave or foolish, but most likely both. They document the conditions inside the facility for the film. Because they can't film inside much of what goes on inside is recreated docudrama-style using actors after the fact. It is melding of styles of documentary and feature filming. It is well-filmed and highly provocative in its description of the Kafkaesque world inside the detention facility. The film is enjoyable and informative. Some of the use of actors as well as the real individuals is quite confusing. The personal stories of the individual immigrants are heart wrenching. I was impressed that they challenge the prevalent stereotype that all undocumented individuals are Latinos by including undocumented individuals from Africa and Iran in the narrative. The film is recommended for anyone who wants to gain a better understanding of the intricacies of the immigration nightmare that we have created.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

2 June 2020 (USA)

Also Known As:

The Infiltrators

Filming Locations:

Broward Transitional Center, Florida, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Baked Studios, Buffalo 8 Productions, Chicago Media Project

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Color:

Color