Two Americans

I just started work on a new film. Tentatively titled, “Two Americans,” it is a feature-length documentary centered around the immigration debate currently happening in Arizona. The story will focus on two characters: Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio who is proud of his monicker as “America’s Toughest Sheriff,” and Katherine Figueroa, a nine-year-old girl who is left without her parents after they are arrested for working in the country illegally.

The film is directed by Dan DeVivo, whose last film, “Crossing Arizona” went to the Sundance Film Festival, and Valeria Fernández, an independent journalist who has received many national recognitions, including the National Association of Hispanic Publication’s award for “Latina Journalist of the Year” in 2004.

I’m excited to begin work. This piece has more than 200 hours of source footage, including one on one interviews with Sheriff Joe going back three years, interviews with just about every major political figure in Arizona including former governor Janet Napolitano, author of SB 1070 Russell Pearce, Editor in Chief of the Phoenix New Times, Michael Lacey and many, many others. I’m somewhat daunted by the shear volume of footage but am excited to be working on such an important and timely project.

Check back in February for updates about the rough cut. If you’d like more information about the project, check out the “Two Americans” website.