About Borderland: Following the Deadly Route to America
Six average Americans are confronted with the realities of illegal immigration while retracing the footsteps of dead border runners. Six Americans gather to embark on a haunting and perilous journey that begins inside the Pima County, Arizona morgue, in Tucson, Arizona. The six Americans are split into three groups, each tasked with retracing the journey of one of Pima County's dead migrants, discovering the grave circumstances that led to them risking everything for a new life. Things get very real in gang-controlled Arriaga, when the six Americans reunite in an abandoned train station. Like thousands before them, they must now risk everything to ride atop the freight train known as La Bestia (The Beast). In the final leg of their journey, the six must navigate the cartel-controlled Mexican city of Sinaloa and face the punishing hike across the border, through the sweltering Sonoran Desert. Series: Borderland, 4 episodes Series directors: Alex Simmons, Darren Foster, Jeffrey Plunkett
Borderland: Following the Deadly Route to America is presented by Best Documentary. Its listed runtime is 192 minutes. The source link and publisher attribution are provided with the embedded film.
As a society documentary, Borderland: Following the Deadly Route to America uses borderland, following, deadly as its central frame. Social documentaries work best as invitations to examine systems through lived experience. Distinguish individual testimony from wider claims, and consider which institutions, incentives and inequalities shape the choices shown.
What to consider before watching
- What evidence, testimony or observation does the film use to explain borderland, following, deadly?
- Which people, institutions or historical conditions most influence the story told in Borderland: Following the Deadly Route to America?
- How does Best Documentary's framing affect the documentary's emphasis, and which perspectives may deserve further research?
Topics covered in this documentary
Documentary details and original source
- Title
- Borderland: Following the Deadly Route to America
- Category
- Society
- Runtime
- 192 minutes
- Language
- English
- Publisher
- Best Documentary
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