Beautiful, heartfelt, moving, powerful work.
We cried and laughed and were so grateful for it, and for you.
Laura Kaminsky
American Composer and Educator
"In all my years of working on immigration issues this might be the most deeply moving film I have seen."
"In all my years of working on immigration issues this might be the most deeply moving film I have seen."
Jeff Oendahl
Office for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation
Franciscan Sisters of Little Falls, MN
“Before I went to Guatemala I didn’t believe I had a brother. Now I know I have a brother who is nice and kind(est).”
"This documentary puts a human face on the issue of immigration,
touches the heart and offers a soul stirring message that has the power
to transform hearts and hopefully even our laws!"
touches the heart and offers a soul stirring message that has the power
to transform hearts and hopefully even our laws!"
Sister Mary McCauley, BVM
Office for Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation
Eugenio, Age 8
from the film, ABRAZOS
“ABRAZOS shows the heartbreak of families torn apart by a U.S. immigration system in need of reform. At the same time, it illustrates the ways in which family bonds are nurtured across generations and space providing a lens into the complicated logistics of transnational families.”
Susan A. Berger
Ph.D.Professor of Political Science, Fordham University
David Vásquez
President Pacific School of Religion
A very powerful statement about love and family and community and together how we can seek collective happiness at the same time bearing witness to the economic, political and social forces that tear us apart ….The film provides the platform for us to come together in collective struggle for our collective dignity.”
Linda Green
Director,
Center for Latin American Studies
University of Arizona
"ABRAZOS is more than the chronicle of a family reunion, it's also a story of cultural fracture and wounds that time will worsen instead of heal."
Lucía Ochoa Figueroa
Author
"Timely - given the current concerns of child-immigration this film should make its way into public consciousness!”
Paul Pines
Poet
"What a gloriously pure and rich expression of all that really matters in the human spirit."
Asa Zatz
Translator
"I haven't cried so much in a movie in years. What a beautiful story. Despite all the pain of displacement and separation, this project has brought so much joy."
"Without saying a word about the injustice of immigration laws, [Abrazos] shows us how connected we are yet how politics and borders arbitrarily inflict separation."
Judy Ancel
Worker Education and Labor Studies (WELS)
University of Missouri-Kansas City
"Luis [created] a film that steps away from the political rhetoric of immigration here, and brings to light the real life issues of the many wonderful immigrants."
Lisa Kramer
Project Coordinator
Familias Juntas
Project Coordinator
Familias Juntas
“Abrazos brings to light that immigration is not an issue of the 'border' but effects our communities across the entire country, and yes, even in our rural communities of SW Minnesota.”
Le Lucht
Coordinator of Diversity and Multi-Cultural Activities
Minnesota West CTC – Worthington Campus