Film Forum

1:10   3:20   5:30   7:40

Luis is an undocumented Guatemalan teenager in New York City. Judy is an ICE officer, a single mother, and the daughter of Cuban immigrants. Directors Chris Temple and Zach Ingrasci first filmed Luis in his Mayan village ten years ago. They meet again when he arrives in the U.S., alone and without papers. He’s trying to make a better life for himself working as a cook and delivering food — but faces the daunting obstacles those without legal status confront. Chief among them are the efforts of ICE officers to arrest and deport him. FIVE YEARS NORTH puts a human face on the migration crisis by contrasting a wide-eyed Luis as he comes of age in a new city, with Judy — the veteran ICE officer whose humanity is put to the test every day. The filmmakers’ unparalleled access to both of their subjects creates a gripping story and valuable entry point for understanding America’s broken immigration system.

FIVE YEARS NORTH premiered at the 2020 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. It went on to win the Grand Jury Prize at DOC NYC 2020 and was a finalist for the duPont-Columbia Award for Outstanding Journalism.

USA    2020    88 MINS.    IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES

Presented with support from the Richard Brick, Geri Ashur, and Sara Bershtel Fund for Social Justice Documentaries.

Reviews

“An intimate tale of urban strife… (that) follows a pair of New Yorkers who couldn’t be more incompatible, even if their lives are connected in larger, more meaningful ways. There’s an underlying suspense involving whether their paths will ever cross. The persistence that (the filmmakers) show in capturing these dual trajectories over such a long time period pays off in the end, especially when we see how Luis evolves from a lost, wonderstruck kid into a member of New York’s hard working immigrant class.”
– Jordan Mintzer, The Hollywood Reporter

“The dueling perspectives of an undocumented immigrant and an ICE agent both making a life for themselves in New York yields a new view on the story of the US border.”
– Stephen Saito, Moveable Fest