Human Rights Watch Film Fest Takes On Immigration, Foster Youth, Abortion

By Editor, Times of San Diego

January 31, 2022

A young woman dreams of getting an education only to suddenly find herself forced into working two jobs – in the fields and on an assembly line – to keep her family afloat.

In Fruits of Labor, Emily Cohen Ibañez’s 2021 documentary, Ashley Pavon, a Mexican-American teenager from California, has to do just that after her mother, an undocumented wsorker, is threatened by immigration raids.

Fruits of Labor is one of the films to be featured at the virtual Human Rights Watch Film Festival, which opens Wednesday, in collaboration with San Diego’s Museum of Photographic Arts.

Ibañez said she wanted to show “what it meant to live under the terror of ICE,” referring to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency, and the effect such fears had on young people who took on adult responsibilities to protect their parents.

Pavon, who co-wrote the film after participating in workshops with Ibañez, said she had felt she was a “bad daughter,” failing to do enough to help her mom. Now she believes working on the film helped her leave those misconceptions behind.

“In a way, I did find healing throughout this whole process,” said Pavon, who was able to return to school and graduate from Santa Clara University.

Many of the festival features focus on “committed young leaders,” said Jennifer Nedbalsky, the event’s deputy director.

“This year’s lineup of films will spark conversations on issues that are happening in our own communities, including access to health care, the importance of supporting foster youth as they work towards their goals (and) the need for immigration reform and the power of indigenous voices,” she said.

In addition to Fruits of Labor, screening at 5 p.m. Saturday, the festival includes:

• 5 p.m. Thursday – On the Divide (2021), depicting a small town on the U.S.- Mexico border that has become home to the last abortion clinic in the Rio Grande Valley. Three Latino community members face death threats and societal pressures as they navigate the ways in which public policies can have personal implications. A pre-recorded Q&A includes director Maya Cueva and film participants.
• 5 p.m. Friday– Possible Selves (2021), focuses on the experiences and voices of foster youth, rather than the system itself, as California teens strive to attain a goal that only 3% of them attain – graduating from college. A pre-recorded Q&A features director and producer Shaun Kadlec and a film subject, Alex Ballantyne.
• Anytime from Wednesday through Sunday – Stream The Stained Dawn (2021) about Karachi feminists who organize a woman’s march, coming up against Pakistan’s radical religious right, and Daughter of a Lost Bird (2020), which follows Kendra, an adult Native adoptee, as she reconnects with her birth family, discovers her Lummi heritage, and confronts issues of her own identity.

Full festival passes cost $35, and individual screenings, $9. Organizers have made free tickets available for those in need, on a first-come, first-served basis, via email, filmticket@hrw.org.

Times of San Diego is an independent online news site covering the San Diego metropolitan area. Our journalists report on politics, crime, business, sports, education, arts, the military and everyday life in San Diego. No subscription is required, and you can sign up for a free daily newsletter with a summary of the latest news.