Tuesday, March 11, 2014

Review: Barzan

The documentary film Barzan's website has the trailer and links to interviews with its creators. I watched it in light of my national security and immigrant rights concerns. I was fortunate enough to have Alex Stonehill (Director/Cinematographer), Bradley Hutchinson (Director/Editor) and Sarah Stuteville (Writer/Reporter) in the room for a Q&A after the screening.


The depressing thing about this movie, which the movie itself points out, is that immigrants who fall into the national security/global war on terror dragnet have little chance of avoiding deportation, regardless of the weakness of their links to terrorism and the support local activists provide. This is simply because there are almost always flaws in a person's immigration record which determined federal authorities can use as an excuse to invalidate an immigrant's legal status.

Nevertheless, it is critical that targeted communities strengthen their solidarity, despite government agent provocateurs and militaristic nativism, to limit as much as possible the damage these policies do to real human beings. Furthermore, we should not wait for the "perfect case," as the NAACP did with Claudette Colvin before supporting Rosa Parks. The only tool to address selective enforcement is community resistance, and it has to be full-court press for four quarters, regardless of the score.

The film is scheduled for release in June for digital download from iTunes, Amazon, etc. through the distributor Traverse Media.

Updated September 2, 2014: