True/False Films

I Will Survive

In person: directors Peter Jordan (The First Kid to Learn English from Mexico) and Jamie Meltzer (La Caminata)

These five films capture stories of survival and self-preservation. La Caminata (15 min.) watches as the dangerous journey from Mexico to the U.S. is reenacted for tourists in a border town.Steel Homes (10 min.), by T/F favorite Eva Weber, includes stark and poetic cinematography of storage lockers, which provide a holding ground for memories of long-gone loved ones and for still-living dreams. The colorful animation of Slaves (dir. Hanna Heilbron, 15 min.) brings alive the tale of two captured Sudanese youth in an engrossing story of survival. In Orange Bombs, you'll fall in love with Habib and Zeinab, who spend their time defusing hundreds of cluster bombs left in their orange grove by the Israelis. Despite the danger, they maintain a happy life together. Finally, in The First Kid to Learn English from Mexico (20 min.), lush camera and music create an surreal portrait of 9-year-old Pedro Lopez, who wishes he never left Mexico. Though something of a problem child, Pedro makes for an honest, charming subject.