This Festival Edition of THE LEAST OF THESE is offered in conjunction with the World Premiere of the film at the 2009 SXSW Film Festival and Conference. Already screened in Washington DC at the Center for American Progress, and scheduled for a screening in June on Capitol Hill, this powerful report helps us focus on aspects of the use of family detention centers as part of the immigration policy.
THE LEAST OF THESE takes a penetrating look at the T. Don Hutto Residential Center, a former medium-security prison that re-opened in 2006 as a prototype family detention center. The facility houses immigrant children and their parents from all over the world who are awaiting asylum hearings or deportation proceedings. As information about troubling conditions at the facility began to leak out, activist attorneys sought to investigate and address the issues. In telling the story of their quest, the film explores the role (and limits) of community and legal activism in bringing about change. The film leads viewers to consider how core American rights and values - protection of children,presumption of innocence, upholding the family structure as the basic unit of civil society, and America as a refuge of last resort - should apply to immigrants, particularly children.
The Detention Watch Network has been working tirelessly to keep these issues in focus, and Five Dollars ($5) from every disc sold goes to support their important work.
Powerful and moving a film about a fight for social justice that forced change - Mark Steiner, WEAA, Baltimore
A stirring peek inside one of the most divisive issues facing the country - Peter Martin, Cinematical
The film asks to what extent Uncle Sam will punish kids for the sins of their parents, even if that sin is wanting to be an American. - Will Coviello, BestofNewOrleans.com
Essential viewing - Culture Capital (Washington D.C.)
