A Deportation Love Story – Independent Feature Documentary Film

Photo: Heather Stone – Chicago Tribune All Rights Reserved. Used by Permission

Tony & Janina’s American Wedding

This feature length documentary gets to the heart of the U.S. immigration system. After 18 years in America, Tony and Janina Wasilewski’s family is torn apart when Janina is deported back to Poland, taking their 6 year old son Brian with her. Set on the backdrop of the Chicago political scene, and featuring Illinois Congressman Luis Gutierrez at the heart of the immigration reform movement, this film follows the Wasilewski’s 3-year struggle to be reunited, as their Senator Barack Obama rises to the Presidency.

With a fresh perspective on the immigration conversation, this film tells the untold human rights story of Post-9/11, that every undocumented immigrant in America faces today, with the power to open the conversation for change. The film is produced by Ruthless Films (Alma, Lipstick & Dynamite) in association with Kartemquin Films (PBS immigration series The New Americans, Hoop Dreams, In the Family).

Anti-immigrant sentiment in the U.S. is rampant. It is often referenced as the new white supremacy movement. And while undocumented migrants contribute to the economy more that they ‘take’, they are the growing scapegoat of economic downturn. While providing a tool for the immigration reform movement, the aim of this project is to move people outside of the base by examining current immigration law as a human rights & flawed policy issue. Focusing on the waive of the 10-year bar, the rights of American-born children, and the push to stop deportations, the filmmakers aim to re-frame the conversation in order to create a legal path to citizenship for the undocumented in America.

Location:

USA Chicago, Illinois

Policy/practice area:

Legal and political integration

Keywords:

Anti-discrimination, Arts, Citizenship and regularization, Community building, Crisis and conflicts management, Culture and diversity, Education, Empowerment, Family and marriage, Governance, Health, Housing, Human rights and law, Intercultural outreach, Interfaith work, Literacy, Media and diversity, Mediation and Interpretation, Policy, Psychosocial assistance, Prevention of crisis , Prevention of polarization, Refugees and asylum seekers, Religion, Return Migration, School, Training, Undocumented migration, Women, Work, Youth, Deportation

Integration Practitioner:

Civil society organization

Name of Organization:

Ruthless Films in association with Kartemquin Films

Website:

http://tonyandjanina.com

Contact Information:

912 S. Taylor Ave, Oak Park, IL 60304
Phone: +1.312.218.7336
Email: steve.ruthlessfilms@gmail.com

Other stakeholders involved in this practice:

Project partners include:

• Illinois Coalition for immigrant & Refugee Rights
• Reform immigration for America
• Center for Community Change- We Are America Stories
• Latin American Coalition

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