Directors:John Sheedy; David Eckenrode; John Eckenrode
Genre: Culture & Society
Movie Type: Social Issues, Biography
Themes: Miscarriage of Justice
Release Year: 2006
Country: US/MX
Run Time: 90 minutes
Plot
Eusebio de Haro Espinosa was a young man from Mexico who slipped over the U.S. border into Texas and was desperate for a drink of water when he happened upon the home of Samuel Blackwood. Later the same day, seventy-year-old Blackwood shot and killed Espinosa; some reports say Blackwood and his wife were chasing the young man in their car when he was killed, while Blackwood's friends and family insist the death was the result of an accident. When Blackwood's case came to trial, it was discovered that part of his initial indictment paperwork had gone missing -- including a key passage concerning weapons -- and eventually the elderly man was released with a suspended sentence, while Espinosa's family insist racism is to blame for their son's death and the failure to bring Blackwood to justice. Filmmakers John Sheedy, David Eckenrode and John Eckenrode examine the Eusebio de Haro Espinosa case in El Inmigrante, a documentary which focuses on the realities of illegal immigration in America -- overworked border guards who feel more compassion than anger towards their charges, amateur vigilantes who discuss their fears of who may be coming into America, and Espinosa's family in Mexico who talk about the young man's death and what prompted him to leave his home. El Inmigrante was screened as part of the 2006 New York Latino Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Credit
Page Ostrow - Co-producer, John Sheedy - Director, David Eckenrode - Director, John Eckenrode - Director, David Eckenrode - Editor, John Eckenrode - Editor, Rick Carlson - Executive Producer, Explosions in the Sky - Composer (Music Score), Calexico - Composer (Music Score), Matthew Valverde - Composer (Music Score), Eric Hopper - Composer (Music Score), Jeff Hopper - Composer (Music Score), Mike Slack - Composer (Music Score), Greg Oldson - Composer (Music Score), King Black Acid - Composer (Music Score), John Sheedy - Camera Operator, David Eckenrode - Camera Operator, John Eckenrode - Production Designer, John Sheedy - Producer, David Eckenrode - Producer, John Eckenrode - Producer, Jason Edwards - Sound/Sound Designer
El Inmigrante is a 2005 documentary directed and written by brothers David and John Eckenrode along with John Sheedy, about immigrant deaths along the U.S.-Mexico border. The film documents the story of the fatal encounter between Mexican migrant Eusebio de Haro Espinosa and elderly Texan Sam Blackwood, close to Blackwood’s property near the international border.