DREAM: AN AMERICAN STORY

A New Documentary Featuring Filmmaker, Miami DREAMers, Killian High School Students, and AI Justice 

Miami, FL – May 13, 2014 – A new documentary by filmmaker Aldo Bello – DREAM:  An American Story – will be shown on Thursday, May 15 at 7 pm at the University of Miami’s Bill Cosford Theater.

Following the screening, there will be a discussion with Mr. Bello; Cheryl Little, Executive Director of Americans for Immigrant Justice; and Monica L., a young Miami DREAMer.

The film explores the struggles of DREAMers – young people brought as undocumented children to the U.S., who have grown up and gone to school here – through the story of Killian High School student Juan Gomez, whose classmates rally to the cause when he is threatened with deportation.  Miami-based Americans for Immigrant Justice, a non-profit immigration law firm, stops his deportation for seven years.  But his fate ultimately rests with the government.  Miami DREAMers, who undertook the Trail of Dreams walk from Miami to Washington, D.C. to raise awareness of the plight of young DREAMers, also form a centerpiece of this stirring film.

The filmmakers spent the last five years filming Juan Gomez and his struggle to remain in the United States, the only country he has ever known. They also documented marches and protests throughout the nation, recording the failure of Congress to pass any kind of immigration reform legislation (so far), and interviewing family, friends, colleagues, students, national and regional politicians, immigration reform advocates, lawyers, ordinary citizens, and youth activists advocating for passage of the DREAM Act.

The filmmakers reflect on this process:  “We have discovered that this nation is once again at war with itself – struggling to define what it means to be a nation of immigrants in today’s complex political and economic environment and how this cherished idea shapes our psyche, our values and ultimately, our national character.”

The event is hosted by Americans for Immigrant Justice, the University of Miami School of Law’s Immigration Clinic and Human Rights Clinic.  Tickets for students and DREAMers are being underwritten.

Members of the press are invited to attend the screening as guests of the hosts.