"The Dream is Now" documentary highlights plight of children of undocumented immigrants

LULAC, Hispanic Chamber and Freedom Center to Present Immigration Film in Cincinnati

The Dream is Now documentary highlights plight of children of undocumented immigrants

From left to right: Alejandro Morales, Ola Kaso, Jose Patino and Erika Andiola. These Dreamers are featured in ‘The Dream is Now’. They attended a pro-immigration reform rally in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday. (Photo by DRM Action Coalition)

CINCINNATI (Sept. xx, 2013)—The League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), the Hispanic Chamber Cincinnati USA and the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center (NURFC) are partnering to bring a new film on immigration to Cincinnati Oct. 4, with screenings at University of Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky University and the annual LULAC Community Awards Gala.

The Dream is Now is a new 30-minute documentary created by Academy Award-winning director Davis Guggenheim (Waiting for ‘Superman’, An Inconvenient Truth). It gives voice to and puts a human face on “Dreamers,” the undocumented children of immigrants who desire to earn citizenship and give back to the only country they’ve ever called home. The film places these personal stories in a larger context and explores the consequences of maintaining status quo—consequences not just for the young people but also for America’s future.

“LULAC is delighted to be showing The Dream is Now at our annual Community Awards Gala, said Lourdes Ribera, director of LULAC Ohio. “The Dreamers are an inspiration and a reminder to all of us never to lose hope.”

The documentary will be presented at two local universities on Oct. 4: Noon to 2 p.m. at Northern Kentucky University’s Otto M. Budig Theater, and 3 to 5 p.m. at University of Cincinnati’s Swift Hall (room 520). Both screenings are free and open to the public.

Two dreamers will share their stories as part of the panel discussion following the film: Ola Kaso is a high school valedictorian and pre-med student at the University of Michigan who reapplies every year for a stay of deportation; and Alejandro Morales, an honor student of a Marine high school who led 11,000 JROTC students and dreams of joining the Marine Corps.

Following the university screenings, the documentary will be shown at the LULAC Community Awards Gala, which is taking place at the Cincinnati Marriott River Center in Covington, KY. Former P&G CEO John Pepper is keynote speaker. Dreamers Kaso and Morales, along with local Dreamer Marco Saavedra, will also share their personal stories.

“The first time I saw the film The Dream is Now, I knew we had go find a way to bring it to Cincinnati, the home of the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, as a clear and heartfelt depiction of the fight for Freedom being carried out by young women and men, hundreds of whom live alongside us in our community,” stated Pepper, co-chair of the NURFC National Advisory Council.