from Nancy Stiefel, SJ Film Committee Chair
What: A Better Life -- a
When: Sunday, Sept.
8th , 7:00 PM
Where: Unitarian
Universalist Fellowship, at the corner of 16th Street and 27th Avenue, Vero
Beach
The Social Justice Film Series of the Unitarian Universalist
Fellowship begins a new season in its sanctuary with the feature film A Better
Life. This film reveals what it is like
to live as an undocumented worker, confined to the shadows of American
society. It’s the story of a gardener in
East L.A. who struggles to keep his son away from gangs and immigration agents
while trying to give him the opportunities he never had. This film is uncommon among Hollywood
productions in that it is set in a Hispanic community and features an almost
entirely Hispanic cast. “Not many films have focused on the struggles of
undocumented immigrants, much less done a good job at it,” says Jonathan Perez
of the Huff Post Latino Voices blog.
Roger Ebert, of the Chicago Sun-Times, wrote that "the
performances are pitch perfect," and he gave the film 3.5 stars out of 4. Its lead actor, Demián Bichir, a popular
Mexican actor, was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. Joy Tipping of Dallas Morning News says,
“Director Chris Weitz neatly avoids sanctimony by centering the engrossing
story on a father-son relationship, letting the audience make up its own mind
about the overarching matter of illegal immigration.”
All of our social justice films are open to the public. There is no charge, but donations are always
gratefully accepted to cover the screening rights fees. Mark your calendar to attend this first film
of our season and bring a friend! The
Fair Trade Corner will be open 30 minutes prior to the film.
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