The Southern Front documents two-year grassroots Laredo fight to stop the Border Wall Screening Thursday, July 7 at 7:30 pm followed by panel discussion
LAREDO, TX– The Laredo Center for the Arts (LCA) will host a new documentary by filmmaker Carlos Evaristo Flores, The Southern Front, that tells the captivating David v. Goliath story of Laredo’s battle against the federal government to stop the border wall from being built on 71 miles in Laredo and Zapata.
“In 2020, Laredo became a target for border wall construction, and we realized quickly that no one was coming to save us,” said Carlos E. Flores, director and producer of the film. “We had to stand up and fight for our community and tell our story. The Southern Front shows how Laredo responded to the Trump administration’s border wall policy. But the fight is not over.”
The Southern Front centers the voices of local activists who helped lead a diverse coalition that stopped the wall in its tracks, following the Feb. 2019 declaration of a national emergency along the entire southern border by the Trump Administration. In May 2020, four contracts were dropped on the Laredo Sector that waived dozens of federal laws to rush the construction of 71 miles of border wall in Webb and Zapata counties, at a cost of more than $1 billion.
“This is a really important story for our community to tell,” said Tricia Cortez, executive director of the Rio Grande International Study Center and co-founder of the No Border Wall Laredo Coalition.
“Against all odds, the people of Laredo and San Ygnacio rose up and stopped the confiscation and destruction of riverfront that would have wiped out neighborhoods, ranches, and parks,” Cortez said. “The wall would have forcibly taken and transferred ownership of land along the Rio Grande to the feds forever. We would have lost our ability to freely fish, kayak, hike, bird, barbecue, and simply enjoy access to our community’s No. 1 natural asset and only source of drinking water. Despite this monumental victory, the threat to our community and river is still there, because of outside political forces.”
The 40-minute screening will take place this Thursday, July 7th at 7:30PM at the Laredo Center for the Arts (500 San Agustin Ave). It is free and open to the public. Flores will moderate a panel immediately following the film.
The Southern Front has received an official selection from five film festivals including the Bridge Fest, Docs Without Borders Film Festival, XicanIndie Film Fest and the 43 CineFestival San Antonio.
It won a 3rd place Remi Award at the 55th Annual Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival. Worldfest-Houston is the oldest independent film festival in the world with a 10-day screening event/festival each April. Their mission is to recognize and honor outstanding creative excellence in film and validate brilliant abilities.
Flores currently serves as lead counsel in Zapata v. Trump, a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of border wall construction in the Laredo Sector. Flores also represents various landowners in condemnation matters related to border wall construction.
For more information, please visit www.LaredoArtCenter.org or call (956) 725-1715
