La Americana Tours India

Nicholas Bruckman was interviewed by The Hindu (India’s National Newspaper) when La Americana toured India as part of the Tri-Continental Film Festival. Check out the interview below!

Beyond Borders

Documentary filmmaker Nicholas Bruckman insists emigration is a good thing

The documentary “La Americana”, ( http://www.la-americana.com/in) winner of several prestigious international awards was recently screened at the fifth Tri-Continental Film Festival at Alliance Francaise de Bangalore. The film narrates the trials of an illegal immigrant from Bolivia, Carmen, and her invalid daughter. Nicholas Bruckman, director of “La Americana” shares his thoughts about the film and the ongoing debate on immigration.

Do you think a human interest story can serve a political purpose?

The problem today is that there is too much of politics and statistics on the immigration issue. People like Carmen are identified as immigrant, but most people seem to have forgotten that they are human beings with real problems.

What is your stand on immigration?

I think immigration is a good thing, simply because it gives a chance for people from different races, cultures, ethnicities to come together. But, that’s a very general answer. Immigration policy is a very complicated topic in almost every country in the world and I understand why countries don’t want to open their borders.

But, in general, if we can take an approach that will slowly lead to a world where people are free to move around, free to live and work wherever they choose – I think that is a good goal to work for.

The same kind of issues has been dealt with in feature films like Babel. Is the documentary better equipped to deal with the question?

I think it can be more effective to know that it is a real person being portrayed as opposed to a scriptwriter in Hollywood telling you what to think.

Personally, I think the documentary actually gives you a chance to relate to the people and their problems.

When you show the film in documentary festivals and not to the general public, aren’t you preaching to the converted?

We are making a lot of effort to reach out to non-traditional audiences.

That is why we tried to make the film entertaining, so it might have a larger appeal.

Another important thing about the documentary is that it’s not just there to get unconvinced people to agree with its message, but also for people who already agree and propel them to action.

It’s also important to reach out to people who may already agree on principle and catalyze them into taking some sort of action on the issue through the film.

There is a wide-spread belief of immigration being essentially harmful for any nation. However, the fact remains that immigrant labour forms the base working community in most countries. Is it possible to work towards an environment where immigration is permissible?

Well, the US just elected Barack Obama president, so, I think anything is possible! But, it is a goal to strive for.

Do I think world peace is possible? Maybe not. If human beings are always going to fight, or are induced to fight based on superficial divisions of race/ethnicity/nationality.

But, that doesn’t mean we can’t work towards a world where everyone says, “I’m a human being first”!

How do you fix a benchmark for legality in immigration?

I’m aware that it’s a very difficult situation. But, I can only speak for my own country. Policy experts in the US could simply begin by increasing the number of visas to get them in line with the actual number of jobs on offer.

But, it’s important to remember that I’m not an immigration policy expert, I’m a filmmaker.

It’s a known fact that there are a huge amount of jobs on offer as domestic help etc., but the visas issued fill up only 10 per cent of the requirement.

So, 90 per cent of the people who actually do these jobs are forced to come in illegally. I’ve heard that the rate of employment for undocumented citizens is higher than legal ones – simply because they come here to work and not to sit on charity or welfare. It’s important to remember that they are all coming in for a legitimate purpose.

I think that you can tax them or fine them for having come illegally and use that money to improve the civil society institutions.

I can’t sketch out the exact method, but I firmly believe that there is a scope for a more humane system to deal with the situation.

And I think most people who handle immigration policy agree, because the reality is actually on the side of the immigrants.

If the immigrants are granted legal protection, it’ll be far more difficult to underpay them or make them work in unspeakable conditions. Probably that is why; the system in place has holes to accommodate the immigrant’s entry.

ANINDITA BISWAS