About this project

We did it!!! In less than three weeks, there has been overwhelming support for La Familia, and we reached the $2,000 goal.

BUT...this $2000 represents only 25% of the total budget for the film, and Kickstarter/Amazon takes 7% of all the donations. So please continue to donate and support this powerful film!!!

THE FILM:

‘Undocumented Immigrant’ and ‘U.S. Citizen’ are often polarizing phrases that carry a charged set of assumptions and stereotypes. La Familia attempts to get beyond the partisan politics and mainstream media's ‘talking point’ approach to immigration issues, by exploring one family's complex and emotional journey involving deportation.

In 1992, Sam and Elida Mejia left Guatemala during a violent civil war and brought their one-year old son, Gilbert, to California. The Mejia’s settled in Marin County and for the past 17 years they have worked multiple jobs to support their family, paid their taxes, and saved enough to buy a home. They had two more children, Helen and Dulce, who are both U.S. citizens.

Two years ago, immigration agents stormed the Mejia's house looking for someone who didn’t live there. Sam, Elida, and Gilbert were all undocumented and became deeply entangled in the U.S. Immigration system.

La Familia begins two weeks before Sam and Elida's scheduled deportation date. After a passionate fight to keep the family together, Sam and Elida are deported and take Dulce with them back to Guatemala.

With intimate access and striking imagery, La Familia explores the complexities of the Mejia's new reality of a separated family: parents without their children, and children without their parents.

WHERE THE FUNDS GO:

The funds raised in this campaign will go towards compensating the composer, Dan Wool (who scored 'Sid+Nancy' as well as many other feature films), partially recouping costs from a two-week production trip for a two-person crew in Guatemala, funding the design, production, and duplication of the La Familia DVD, and partially covering Film Festival entry fees.

La Familia will screen at film festivals, serve as an educational tool to spark dialogue about immigration issues, be pitched to National/International television broadcasters, and eventually will publicly stream on the internet.

The film will be finished by early June and will premiere at Stanford University on June 12th. The La Familia DVD should ship out to supporters by the end of this summer.

Thank you so much for taking the time to read this far! Your donations are obviously very much appreciated, but if you can't give at this time please pass on the word about the film to anyone who might be able to screen or use the film in a positive way. Feel free to contact me at the email address below or through this Kickstarter page.

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION:

This film is my thesis project for a Graduate degree in Documentary Film/Video at Stanford University. The film recently wrapped production and is now entering the post-production process. Throughout this campaign I will be cutting the film and collaborating with the talented composer Dan Wool, who worked on Sid and Nancy and many other feature films. Leading up to the premiere on June 12th, I will be mixing the sound, color correcting the image, and making this film as emotionally and visually powerful as it can be.

Thank you!!!

Theo Rigby

Email: theorigby@yahoo.com

LINKS:

La Familia Facebook Fan Page:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/La-Familia-a-documentary-film/100245720019913

San Francisco Chronicle editorial about the Mejia family:
http://articles.sfgate.com/2009-10-25/opinion/17185076_1_jobs-family-reform

Check out the La Familia trailer in HD and Theo Rigby's other films here:
http://www.vimeo.com/theorigby

Or see his films on San Francisco's PBS channel's website here:

http://www.kqed.org/arts/programs/trulyca/shorts/episode.jsp...
http://www.kqed.org/arts/programs/trulyca/shorts/episode.jsp...

Dan Wool's website--composer for La Familia:
http://www.prayforrain.com/

Project location: San Francisco, CA

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Theo Rigby

San Francisco, CA

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Theo Rigby is a freelance Documentary filmmaker and photographer based out of San Francisco. He creates social and political documentary projects with still and moving images. Theo has focused on topics ranging from the War in Iraq, to incarceration, and most recently, immigration in the U.S. His first film, ‘My First War’, about the first 44 days of the war in Iraq, won awards, was accepted in a dozen film festivals, and was recently distributed by Ironweed Films. His short film 'Close to Home' was a National Finalist in the 2009 Student Academy Awards, won a Golden Eagle Award, special Jury mention at the 2010 Ashland Independent film festival and has been accepted into more than ten film festivals.

Theo has completed documentary photography projects on Migrant Workers in South Korea, Childhood Asthma in America, families of U.S. Soldiers who have been killed in Iraq, and Undocumented Immigrants living in the U.S. He has shot stills for Newsweek, The New York Times, National Geographic France, People magazine, and many other National and International publications. His still photographic work has been exhibited at San Francisco City Hall, and at the 2005 Visa Pour L’Image festival in Perpignan, France.

Theo also has a passion for education and has taught undergraduate documentary photography, as well as starting and directing an after-school digital storytelling program for immigrant youth in San Francisco. He is currently pursuing a M.F.A. in Documentary Film at Stanford University and will graduate in June 2010.