’14,’ a documentary on citizenship by birth, premieres in Washington – The Washington Post

Interesting documentary and subject:

Who is, or deserves to be, an American citizen is a simple question that gets complicated depending on what else is going on in the culture. Now that immigration is such a preoccupation for some, bills are periodically introduced in Congress to challenge the right of children born in the United States to undocumented immigrant parents to be considered citizens by birth. Check out the Birthright Citizenship Act of 2015 proposed by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa).

Documentary filmmaker Anne Galisky, who has chronicled the immigrant-rights movement for years, takes on the question in a new work called “14: Dred Scott, Wong Kim Ark & Vanessa Lopez.” The film had its Washington premiere Thursday night at the E Street Cinema. Galisky is lining up more screenings in the area and hopes to pitch it to public television. “Talk to us about bringing it to your school, your nonprofit, your place of worship,” she said to the audience of 75 at the premiere.

… At the time of filming, Vanessa Lopez is the 8-year-old American-born daughter of undocumented immigrant activist Rosario Lopez, now living in Seattle. Vanessa says she wants to be “either an artist, a photographer, a lawyer or a marine biologist.” With her unaccented English and her 8-year-old’s view of the world, she tries to puzzle through the thinking of adults who would deport her mother and grandparents and deny citizenship to children like her.

Vanessa serves as the heart-tugging emotional center of the film, while Galisky draws a direct narrative line from Scott to Ark to the Lopez family. Along the way, she interviews descendants of both Scott and Ark.

Galisky, whose previous film was “Papers: Stories of Undocumented Youth” (2009), said bills to undermine birthright citizenship may seem unlikely to pass, but “I think there’s danger even in calling birthright citizenship into question.”

’14,’ a documentary on citizenship by birth, premieres in Washington – The Washington Post.