GOOD READ: Mexican Immigrants Repeatedly Brave Risks to Resume Lives in United States [Source: NY Times]

Another insightful article by The New York Times' Damien Cave, who writes:

Migrant shelters along the Mexican border are filled not with newcomers looking for a better life, but with seasoned crossers: older men and women, often deportees, braving ever-greater risks to get back to their families in the United States — the country they consider home.

For the full article, please click here.

GOOD READ: An analysis of current Mexican immigration trends [Source: NY Times]

The New York Times' comprehensive and insightful report on recent Mexican immigration trends states that "economic, demographic and social changes in Mexico are suppressing illegal immigration as much as the poor economy or legal crackdowns in the United States." Damien Cave writes:

The extraordinary Mexican migration that delivered millions of illegal immigrants to the United States over the past 30 years has sputtered to a trickle, and research points to a surprising cause: unheralded changes in Mexico that have made staying home more attractive.

For the full article, please click here.

Introducing: AQUÍ Y ALLÁ

Over the last year and a half, we've had the honor of producing a truly beautiful film.

Aquí y Allá is an unexpected take on the traditional immigrant story. It tells of Pedro, who returns home to his small village in Guerrero, Mexico, hoping desperately to make enough of a living there to support his family and avoid an uncertain future back in the United States.

The film came out of the 2010 Sundance Screenwriters Lab, and we're now in the process of applying to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival (so, if you've got fingers, cross them!).

We just got to watch the final cut last Friday, and it's got us mighty excited. All that's left is to finish the visual effects, sound editing and mixing, color correction, titling, and subtitling, and we'll be good to go!

We're also just starting to establish an online presence for the film, so if you'd like to check out stills, screenshots, trailers (soon), and other fun schmings, please "like" our Aquí y Allá Facebook page. Thanks, in advance, for your love and support!

We'll keep updating the page, and a new, right proper, non-Facebooky site will be up and running soon. We'll be sure to keep y'all posted.

...and we're BACK!!

Sorry we've been so out of touch.

Rest assured, we've been silently but diligently working on more fronts than we could list; exploring and developing many interesting relationships and projects; burning candles at both ends; firing on all cylinders; and searching for new idioms.

We're excited about quite a few opportunities these days, but it's simply too early to share them all with you.

There's one, however, that we'd love to begin telling you about, but it deserves its own post. We just wanted to take the liberty to welcome ourselves back into your lives, and thank you for your patience, in our absence.

We can't wait to share all the exciting news with you, and will begin doing so..............now.

BLOOMBERG NEWS: "Swine-Flu Slaughter Leaves Cairo Without Pigs to Devour Trash"

Bloomberg News report on the pig cull, the current situation in Cairo, and the displacement of the Zabbaleen (which they, too, spelled Zabaleen). Daniel Williams writes:

Egypt’s pigs are getting their revenge.

Five months after anxiety about swine flu prompted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s government to order the slaughter of all the country’s 300,000 hogs, the organic waste they once devoured is piling up on Cairo’s streets, contributing to a garbage crisis.

The government’s action destroyed the livelihood of about 70,000 families known as zabaleen, who were freelance trash collectors and urban pig farmers.

For the full article, please click here.

Thanks, Daniel, for the solid piece of independent journalism.

FRONT PAGE OF THE SUNDAY NEW YORK TIMES

The New York Times reports on the Zabbaleen (which they spell Zabaleen, but we still love them), the Egyptian pig cull, and garbage piling up in the streets of Cairo. Michael Slackman writes:

It is unlikely anyone has ever come to [Cairo] and commented on how clean the streets are. But this litter-strewn metropolis is now wrestling with a garbage problem so severe it has managed to incite its weary residents and command the attention of the president.

For the full article, please click here.

Thank you, Michael, for your thorough and poignant report.

MARINA ONE-WEEK LA ENGAGEMENT SCREENING TIMES

For your reference, our LA screenings are:

September 16-22, 2009 :: 1:30pm and 2pm

Laemmle Grande 4-plex Theater
345 S. Figueroa Street
Downtown LA

For tickets, visit tickets.torchfilms.com, or just click here.

MARINA DVD NOW SHIPPING

 

DVDs of Marína of the Zabbaleen are now available and shipping.

To purchase a copy, click here.
 
With inspiration from the Zabbaleen’s thorough recycling system, distribution of the film will set the global standard for an environmentally and socially responsible independent motion picture release, serving as a benchmark for green film distribution. Mindful that Marína comes from a family of paper sorters, the film's marketing campaign has been completely paperless, to date. Digital marketing and distribution processes are integral to the release. Theatrical distribution will utilize vanguard digital cinema technology, and innovative DVD distribution will reduce the carbon footprint of the process by more than 50%, on a per unit basis, from that of standard industry practice. Torch Films is utilizing the greenest DVD technology available, the Flex DVD created by CD Digital Card, which uses 50% less polycarbonate plastic material than traditional DVDs, emits 50% less CO2 in manufacturing, and eliminates the necessity of non-biodegradable bonder. Marína of the Zabbaleen is the first feature film to utilize this DVD technology. 100% soy-based inks will be used for all printing, and DVD packaging will be constructed from 95% recycled and 100% recyclable materials.

 

MARINA IN SLANT MAGAZINE

Adam Keleman writes:

"The principal strength of Wassef's debut is its delicate, revealing look at Marina's life... ...A portrait of the few who live off the rubbish of the affluent, Wassef's Zabbaleen is richly observed and poignant."

For the full review, click here.

Thanks, Adam!

TORCH ON TWITTER

Yeah, we know we're a little tardy to the party, but follow us on twitter and you won't regret it.

Best,
Torch