Erasing The Border

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Mexican American artist Ana Teresa Fernández imagines a creative way to make the US-Mexico border wall disappear.

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Main credits

Herrero Garvín, Laura (film director)
Herrero Garvín, Laura (screenwriter)
Thomassin, Romain (screenwriter)
Naseem, Amanda (film producer)

Other credits

Director of photography, Pamela Albarrán; editors, Ashley Roby [and 3 others]; music, Nanai [and 3 others].

Keywords

visual arts,painting,drawing,printmaking,filmmaking,craft,crafts,architecture,ceramics,photography,video,videomaking,film,conceptual art,installation art,art exhibits,artmaking,photos,videography,sculpting,sculpture,theatre,theater,music,musicmaking,music performance,art styles,art history,plastic arts,fine art,fine arts,visual arts centers,visual arts education,jewelry,jewelrymaking,beaux arts,graphic arts,graphic design,abstract art,art galleries,art gallerist,galleries,gallery,gallerist,gallerists,illustration,activism,activist,digital activism,advocacy,advocate,involvement,militancy,militant,logrolling,striking,boycotting,championing,champion,effecting change,engagement,supporter,protest,protester,demonstrator,organizing,labor organizing,revolution,revolutionary,community organizing,effecting change,striking,labor strike,labor organizing,migration studies,migrant studies,immigration studies,refugee studies,diaspora studies,resettlement studies,settlement studies,migration,migrant,immigration,refugee,diaspora,resettlement,settlement,refugees,international migration,continental migration,resettling,settlers,settler,migrant,migrant studies,first generation immigrant,first generation immigration,new americans,new spaniards,latin american studies,caribbean american studies,island studies,latin american culture,latin american history,latin american politics, caribbean american culture,caribbean american history,caribbean american politics, latin american languages,latin american and caribbean studies,hispanic american studies,hispanic people,hispanic culture,hispanic politics,latinx,latin american,latino,latina,latin american people,hispanic,hispanic people,hispanic people,chicano,chicana,latine,latinx heritage,afro-latinx,culture,identity,identity politics,culture wars,left wing,right wing,intersectionality,identity groups,civilization,literacy,humanism,cancel culture,online culture,cultural revolution,cultural diffusion,culture shock,popular culture,pop culture,material culture,cultural capital,cultural assimilation ,north america,america,us,usa,united states,united states of america,us mexico and canada,map of north america,north american countries,states of north america,provinces of north america,countries of north america,continental america,family,kin,fellowship,household,immediate family,extended family,multigenerational family,multigenerational household,kinfolk,family tree,genealogy,nuclear family,modern family,family tree,short films,short film,short,non-feature,run time,short run time,running time,short running time,live-action short,documentary short,animated short,live-action short film,documentary short film,animated short film,international relations,global relations,global studies,international studies,international affairs,intercontinental relations,intercontinental studies,foreign studies,foreign relations,national relations,national studies,cross-continental studies,cross-continental relations; "Erasing The Border"; Pragda Films

00:00:00.864 --> 00:00:05.864
(waves crashing)
(seagulls calling)

00:00:07.750 --> 00:00:10.050
- [Ana Teresa] The Pacific
Ocean does traverse

00:00:10.050 --> 00:00:11.873
Mexico and the United States.

00:00:12.800 --> 00:00:15.400
And this idea of flow and tides

00:00:15.400 --> 00:00:18.651
and how the currents move so freely

00:00:18.651 --> 00:00:23.199
and how we're not allowed
to move that freely.

00:00:23.199 --> 00:00:25.949
(waves crashing)

00:00:26.928 --> 00:00:30.178
(quiet bouncing music)

00:01:55.020 --> 00:01:56.730
- [Ana Teresa] There's
nothing more heartbreaking

00:01:56.730 --> 00:01:59.590
than to have someone
you love be right there

00:01:59.590 --> 00:02:03.253
and not be able to just reach across.

00:02:04.160 --> 00:02:08.920
I saw this big beast
just laying on the sand.

00:02:08.920 --> 00:02:11.230
It feels like a huge dragon that is

00:02:11.230 --> 00:02:13.250
cutting across the terrain.

00:02:13.250 --> 00:02:15.140
And then you see the tail of it

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penetrate into the ocean
and part the waves.

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I wanna be able to get rid of it,

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even if just for an instant,
even if for a glance

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people look up and it doesn't exist.

00:02:27.325 --> 00:02:29.908
(music)

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My name is Ana Teresa Fernandez.

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I'm a visual artist, I'm
originally from Mexico.

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I grew up in Tampico, Tamaulipas

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which is a small town in
the Gulf Coast of Mexico.

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When I was 11 years old my parents told us

00:03:00.260 --> 00:03:02.513
that we were gonna be
living in the States.

00:03:04.340 --> 00:03:06.420
It's a huge privilege to be brought up

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in two places at the same time,

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heavily influenced by
both sides of the border.

00:03:24.010 --> 00:03:27.370
My mother has been an
incredible inspiration

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for my character but also for my work.

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She started documenting the border

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right about the time that
I left for university.

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We became artists at the same time.

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She picked up a camera and
I picked up a paintbrush.

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There is this very strong silent

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resilience that I find in her.

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My performances, my paintings,
a lot of the imagery

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I use has been based on that silent way

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of protesting through your actions.

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Can you bake us a recipe to
make the perfect sky color?

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- Oh I'll try, you may be a dreamer.

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(machine whirring)

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(music)

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- Thank you so much.
- You're welcome.

00:06:01.008 --> 00:06:03.591
(music)

00:06:23.810 --> 00:06:27.760
- [Around the border there
has been a growing community

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where it's friends who've been apart

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and it's all about celebrating

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that moment of coming together.

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They know that they need to
create that support system.

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How can we get you
closer to your loved ones

00:06:54.810 --> 00:06:57.120
and they do it and it's incredibly

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powerful and beautiful to witness.

00:07:07.799 --> 00:07:10.549
(peaceful music)

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(laughing)

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- [Ana Teresa] We have
to fight to create spaces

00:08:25.280 --> 00:08:27.173
where people can come back together.

00:08:30.369 --> 00:08:33.536
(upbeat music)

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That's when art becomes
incredibly useful as a tool

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where you allow people to
reimagine what's possible.

00:08:50.230 --> 00:08:52.910
It's a collective insistence
of yes we want this thing away.

00:08:52.910 --> 00:08:55.687
We want to erase as much of it as we can.

00:09:55.971 --> 00:09:58.630
I think it's one of the
most impactful moments

00:09:58.630 --> 00:10:00.890
as an artist, as a human being.

00:10:00.890 --> 00:10:03.610
I realize that the piece
was gonna translate

00:10:03.610 --> 00:10:06.543
it from being a wall that divides

00:10:06.543 --> 00:10:08.823
through the ocean and
the sky that expands.

00:10:10.850 --> 00:10:13.170
I couldn't think of a
much more peaceful way

00:10:13.170 --> 00:10:17.150
of doing it then just by
using my weapon which is paint

00:10:17.150 --> 00:10:19.550
in a very poetic way where
I'm not telling people

00:10:19.550 --> 00:10:22.920
what to think, I'm just pulling

00:10:22.920 --> 00:10:26.223
down the sky to kiss the ground again.

00:10:29.700 --> 00:10:33.200
Nature and humanity has seasons

00:10:34.240 --> 00:10:39.240
where you allow for growth
and what we're doing

00:10:39.340 --> 00:10:42.183
with borders is stunting that growth.

00:10:44.070 --> 00:10:47.320
And why is that, why can't we just

00:10:47.320 --> 00:10:49.670
continue to flow with
the ocean back and forth?

00:10:54.574 --> 00:10:57.741
(upbeat music)