The involuntary displacement of more than 108 million people in all corners of the earth—a number that will continue to increase—is an unfolding tragedy that will, depending on our response, help define what kind of world we share with our fellow human beings in the 21st century, and what kind of global civilization we become.

 

Much is at stake. At present, thousands of children, women, and men are being forced from their homes every day by armed conflict; violence in many forms; ethnic and religious prejudice; political oppression; poor governance; economic mismanagement; natural disasters; and land, crop and water failures induced by global warming. For those who bravely venture to the U.S. border, their arrival brings a whole new set of challenges, frustrations, and dangers that are deeply traumatizing, and lead to yet more painful outcomes for the migrants and asylum seekers.

 

Oh Mercy–Searching For Hope In The Promised Land, our film released in 2021, serves as a powerful tool for communication and advocacy, as well as the catalyst to the Running to Stand Still series. The film’s impact provides us with only a glimpse of what our nation is in dire need of—widespread conversation about the realities of what is happening on our border, and a humanitarian movement that aims to drastically change the immigration policies that are affecting these vulnerable humans. Our forthcoming film, Running To Stand Still–Migrants Search For Hope In The Promised Land, seeks to continue and strengthen that movement. 

 

Filming for Running To Stand Still has been completed. This feature film will address the issues of marginalization, dehumanization, and systematic exclusion, in more depth than Oh Mercy. The film, constructed as a series of interconnected vignettes and stories told by the migrants themselves, seeks to put a human face on these children, their families, and their relatives—vulnerable human beings whose heartbreaking stories are mostly absent from national conversations about the human costs of failed or non-existent immigration policies. 

 

For more information about the film’s completion process or if you would like to make a donation, please contact Executive Producer Heidi Ostertag heidi@worldwidedocumentaries.com