Fiege Films

Please give as much money as you can afford (or more) to Earthquake Relief in Haiti. I donated to Partners in Health, which is one of most amazing health organizations in the world and grew out of the work of Paul Farmer and others in Haiti decades ago.  The situation in Haiti is already catastrophic and will quickly become even worse if the earthquake survivors do not receive food, water and medical attention very soon.  People outside of Haiti can help the most right now by giving money to relief organizations.

Partners in Heath is a remarkable organization that has redefined health care for poor people around the world by treating poor patients in the same way that rich patients would expect to be treated.  It’s a simple but revolutionary idea that all began in Haiti.  Tracy Kidder tells the remarkable story of Paul Farmer and the founding of Partners in Health in his book Mountains Beyond Mountains.  The Partners in Health Web site also contains great information about the organization’s mission and history.

Relief organizations need help right away, but even if you’re reading this long after the earthquake, Partners in Health and other organizations can always use your support.  Thank you for donating what you can!

The Cine Las Americas International Film Festival kicked off last night at the Paramount Theater here in Austin.  Check out the festival’s Web site for their impressive line-up of films, both fiction and documentary.  In addition to being on the Narrative Feature Competition jury this year, a film I shot, The Least of These, will be playing out-of-competition.  If you missed The Least of These at SXSW, see it for free at Cine Las Americas or at the Texas Capitol.  Here is more info about the film and the screening times:

The Least of These
Free Screening at the Texas Capitol
Friday April 24, 2 pm
Texas Capitol Extension Auditorium (Room E1.004)

Co-sponsored by Rep. Elliott Naishtat, Rep. Rafael Anchia and the Cine Las Americas International Film Festival

(Note that Texas State Representatives will soon be voting on HCR-95, a resolution urging Congress to consider better alternatives to family detention.)

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The Least of These
Cine Las Americas International Film Festival
Monday April 27, 6 pm
Mexican American Cultural Center (MACC)
600 River Street

Q&A after the screening with the directors, Barbara Hines (UT School of Law) and Lisa Graybill (ACLU)

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, three activist attorneys (Vanita Gupta of the ACLU, Michelle Brané of the Women’s Refugee Commission, and Barbara Hines of the University of Texas School of Law) sought to investigate and address the issues. In telling the story of their quest, the film explores the role and limits of legal and community activism in bringing about change.  The film leads viewers to consider how core American rights and values – presumption of innocence, the protection of children, 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.  (Filmmakers: Director/Producers Clark Lyda and Jesse Lyda, Producer Marcy Garriott, DP John Fiege)

“…This quiet and measured documentary about the history of Hutto doesn’t paint ICE or management firm Corrections Corporation of America as the bad guys. Instead, it shows them as victims of their own political and commercial hubris and highlights the bleak comedy of their attempts to justify a bad idea. But as the interviews with traumatized kids, parents disabused of the American dream, and the lawyers that fight for them show, it doesn’t matter how many Disney murals you paint on the walls – a prison is a prison.”  — The Austin Chronicle

For more information about the film: www.theleastofthese-film.com

For more information about Cine Las Americas: www.cinelasamericas.org

The Least of These Trailer on YouTube