El Paso filmmakers using movies to show different perspective of the Borderland

The first El Paso Film Festival, set to kick off this fall, will screen 10 short films from independent filmmakers. And there seems to be trend among the movies — filmmakers who grew up along the border, telling the story of life along the border from their perspective.

Carlos Corral is the artistic director for the El Paso Film Festival.

“A lot of times when people come from out of town, they think it’s nothing but narcos and drug guys and cartels. When in reality that is not the border that we know. That’s not the border that we grew up in. So, a lot of these stories told from the perspective of these El Paso filmmakers really kind of generated a different idea of what could be possible here in El Paso,” Corral said.

Some critics of the Hollywood blockbuster “Sicario” criticized the film for perpetuating the perception of a “lawless” border. The movie told the story of an idealistic FBI agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) who receives a top assignment. She joins a task force for the escalating war against drugs, traveling back-and-forth across the U.S.-Mexican border, using one cartel boss (Bernardo Saracino) to flush out a bigger one (Julio Cesar Cedillo).

Corral said because many Hollywood movies that showcase the border involve violence, it is important for Borderland filmmakers to share their experiences.

“It gives us an opportunity to control the narrative. It gives us the opportunity to control what stories we tell about El Paso, rather than having people come from the outside and give their perception that it is just cartels and narcos here, when in fact it is not,” Corral said.

Corral said there are about four or five different films that will be shown during the first El Paso Film Festival that show El Paso in a much different light — and all are made by Borderland filmmakers.

“Para Ellos” is one of those films. In English, the title of the film is “For Them.”

The film tells the story of a young Mexican girl named Maria and her little brother Juan. On the night her father goes missing, they embark on a journey across the U.S./Mexico border in hopes of bringing him back home, but not without the guidance of three curious, yet meddling desert creatures.

Christian Contreras is one of the film’s directors. He studied filmmaking in California, but grew up in El Paso.

“I think any type of Latino story with a Latino narrative is important. For me, even moving out to LA, there is all these perceptions on what the Borderland is about and all these negative aspects about it. So it was important for me to tell the story that shone a light to this issue but to also portrayed Latinos in a positive way as well.”

The Borderland is again in the national spotlight. President Trump is calling for an expanded border wall and sending National Guard troops to the Southwestern border. There is also a white hot debate over immigration.

It was the child immigration crisis that inspired Contreras to make “Para Ellos.”

“Back in 2012, when it was surging, not a lot of people were talking about it, whether in the news or anywhere. And so it was important for us to tell that story because in 2014 it spiked at 68,000 children crossing alone without any adults. So it was very important for us to tell that story not only to people in the region, but whereever the film played,” Contreras said.

“Nacido de Nuevo” is another movie that will be shown during the film festival. It tells the story of a Border Patrol agent who on the anniversary of his young son’s death, finds redemption at the hands of an illegal alien in a single polarizing and life-altering night.

Both Corral and Contreras hope both films will present a new perspective on life along the border.

“I think a lot of people when they see the news they see the news in the background or they are watching the news and it really does not impact them until they see a story that they can connect with. And I think that it what film and cinema does for people to allow them to connect to the characters,” Contreras said.