SPROCKETS

posted by James Reel

    For a change, my contribution to the latest Tucson Weekly is about film instead of theater:

    To celebrate the 15th Arizona International Film Festival, held April 20-30, organizer Giulio Scalinger wanted to plan nonstop parties. Unexpectedly for a medium usually associated with fantasy, real life got in the way.
    An important component of every festival is Cine sin Fronteras, exploring the complex U.S.-Mexico border, with screenings and panel discussions revolving around international relations and immigration.
    Well, right now, we've got grizzled old Minutemen camped out in their RVs trying to turn in illegal border crossers, politicians in Phoenix and Washington issuing proposals and counter-proposals on immigration control with an eye toward re-election rather than social justice, and hundreds of thousands of adults and especially high school students demonstrating in support of the rights of undocumented workers and their families.
    All of a sudden, parties seemed beside the point when there were so many films available about current border events.