US (1981): Documentary
In Spring 1980, Fidel Castro opened the Cuban port of Mariel to thousands of refugees (henceforth known as Marielitos) intent on braving "wind and tide" to cross to Key West, Florida and the promise of a new life in the U.S. President Jimmy Carter initially gave support to the boatlift, which eventually brought 125,000 Cubans to America. Director Jim Burroughs and his crew boarded a flotilla vessel bound for Mariel to film the exodus clandestinely. He also documented activities at the Florida processing centers where the asylum-seekers were screened and the search for sponsors begun. To personalize the chaotic and impersonal nature of this massive migration, Burroughs followed three refugees: a 14-year-old girl entangled in bureaucracy; a doctor remanded to a detention camp at Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, where the lethargic pace of processing had earlier sparked angry demonstrations; and a woman with two sons nervously awaiting reunion with her husband. Burroughs charts the fates of these individuals one year after their settlement in this country - fates linked to the vicissitudes of the political climate. President Carter ultimately retreated from his humanitarian agenda; he ordered the flotilla halted and the boats impounded. (MediaRights.org)
1 nomination
· Documentary (Features) 1981: Susanne Bauman, Paul Neshamkin & Jim Burroughs - Producers
