A student-led documentary sharing the stories of the attempts of three men to cross from Mexico into the United States is set to premiere Thursday at Bethel University in Arden Hills.
"Border of Dreams," produced by students at Bethel and Francisco Marroquin University in Guatemala City, seeks to reframe the issue of immigration by focusing on the experiences of those who have tried to cross the southern U.S. border.
"Immigration is such an evergreen issue," said student producer Soraya Keiser. "People will fight on both sides of the aisle, but you can't fight with a person's experiences."
The project began with a Bethel journalism class trip to Guatemala in January 2022, when Keiser and her Guatemalan project partner learned about a local family that had failed three times to cross into the United States.
The Bethel team left Guatemala with a magazine story centered on the family, but it felt unfinished, Keiser said. Professor Scott Winter, who taught the journalism class, suggested they continue pursuing the story.
After landing a $25,000 grant for the project from Bethel's Edgren Scholars Program, the student team was connected with an undocumented family in the U.S. by a Bethel theology professor who works with such families, Winter said.
Working on the project alongside Guatemalans gave the documentary a fresh, passionate perspective, in large part due to the insight of director and Marroquin University graduate Nataly Basterrechea, Keiser said.
"We wouldn't have this story without the students from Guatemala," Keiser said. "It would've been impossible."