"Running To Stand Still" comes at a time when concerns about immigration are front and center. Millions of people around the world are on the move, forcibly displaced from their homes by powerful forces including gang violence, climate change, and war. They come from South America, the Northern Triangle of Central America, the Caribbean, and elsewhere. First and foremost, "Running" seeks to go beyond the headlines to put a human face on the migrants themselves: vulnerable human beings whose heartbreaking stories are sadly missing from the daily news cycles. Thousands of migrant children, women, and men are trapped on both sides of the U.S. / Mexico borders in what one asylum seeker has called “a waiting room to nowhere.”
A Story Not Yet Told - If a story remains untold, the subject(s) of that story might as well not exist. "Running" aims to provide the American public with compelling storytelling that brings to light the pain and suffering that U.S. immigration policies are inflicting on thousands of innocent children, women, and men whose treatment is not only inhumane but also counter-productive: it is a well-known fact that immigrants have historically been vital contributors to America’s economic well-being and cultural diversity. "Running" thus seeks to create a powerful narrative shift in the way Americans think about, and respond to, the reality of forced migration on our Southern border. A divisive issue needs to become one of national interest and concern; indifference needs to morph into compassionate activism; the fear stoked by isolationists needs to be recognized for the empty and cynical lies that fan its flames. And, above all, the stories of "Running"—stories of courage, dignity, and perseverance-- need to remind Americans everywhere that we are a welcoming and generous people who care deeply for children and their families and are committed to making our country the promised land that so many believe it to be.
Filming for "Running" began in the Rio Grande Valley in 2022, with filming in Matamoros and Reynosa, Mexico, and in June 2023 in El Paso and Juárez, Mexico. Footage includes stories from refugee children and their families; visits to shelters and camps; and narrative interviews with social workers, psychologists, nuns, activists, pastors, and full-time volunteers. Essential interviews, observations, and stories will come from the children themselves. Pending receipt of completion funding that will be applied to editing, and post-production, "Running" will be released in 2024.