The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism and Twelve Letter Films are proud to announce that their first documentary, “Los Lecheros” (Dairy Farmers), which explores rising tensions over undocumented dairy workers since the election of President Trump, has been accepted to two prestigious film festivals.
The 21-minute documentary will premiere at the Meet the Press Film Festival in Collaboration with the American Film Institute on Nov. 13, in Washington, D.C. The film is one of 16 short political documentaries to be featured in the inaugural festival, and will include a question and answer session with Twelve Letter Films’ director Jim Cricchi following the screening.
“Los Lecheros” also has been selected for inclusion in DOC NYC, the nation’s largest documentary film festival. It will screen in New York City on Nov. 16.
The idea for the documentary began when Cricchi approached the Center in April after reading a story by Wisconsin Public Radio and Center reporter Alexandra Hall on fears that Wisconsin dairy farmers and their undocumented immigrant workers shared because of the Trump administration’s vow to deport anyone in the country illegally. Immigrants make up a majority of the workforce on Wisconsin dairy farms, and many farmers say that deporting workers could harm Wisconsin’s signature industry.
“I have been following WCIJ’s work for years and in particular their stories on water and environmental issues,” Cricchi said. “When I came across Alexandra Hall’s story about immigrant dairy farm workers, I was intrigued by the idea of making a short documentary around her strong reporting and the compelling individuals profiled in the article.”
Cricchi brought his camera to western Wisconsin, and along with Hall and Center photographer Coburn Dukehart, documented an immigrant family preparing to leave after working 16 years on a dairy farm. Miguel Hernandez and his wife Luisa Tepole took their two American-born sons back to their hometown in Mexico as fear of an immigration crackdown created uncertainty in their lives.
The film also features Guillermo Ramos, who manages a 1,000-cow farm. He plans to stay despite the threats of possible deportation. In addition, Cricchi profiled Buffalo County farmer John Rosenow, who has advocated publicly for immigration reform, saying that immigrants are critical to the state’s $43 billion-a-year dairy industry.
And the film includes an interview filmed last summer with Rep. Bob Gannon, R-West Bend, co-sponsor of a controversial Assembly bill aimed at preventing immigrant sanctuary jurisdictions. Gannon, 58, died unexpectedly early this month.
Cricchi worked closely with Alexandra Hall, Dukehart, Executive Director Andy Hall and Managing Editor Dee J. Hall to fact-check and fine-tune the final project to meet the exacting standards of the film industry, the Center and WPR.
“Bravo to Jim Cricchi and my WCIJ and WPR colleagues for their skillful reporting and storytelling,” Andy Hall said. “We hope this film provides the public and policymakers with insights into the effects of immigration policies and economic forces on immigrants and citizens, including employers.”
Alexandra Hall’s interviews with many of the Spanish-speaking subjects, originally recorded for WPR, were used throughout the film.
“Working with Jim was an amazing experience,” she said. “His interest in this issue and in the people we met, plus his devotion to the film, elevated the quality and depth of our reporting. I’m very happy that he approached us and that together, we could bring this story to a larger audience.”
This is the first film produced by the Center, and the first documentary film directed by Cricchi, who has been an editor for 20 years working on documentaries, feature films, television and short films for outlets including Vice on HBO and The New York Times. Twelve Letter Films is a joint venture with Susan Peters, who has worked in nonprofit management and development, with a particular focus on the Middle East and North Africa. Peters is a member of the Peters Family Foundation, which donates money to the Center.
“The WCIJ team’s research, great writing and their relationships in the field were the backbone of this film,” Cricchi said. “Collaborating with them provided a good opportunity for me to make a film around a topic I care about, and it turned out that it was a good opportunity for WCIJ to do its first documentary film collaboration.”
Added Cricchi: “I hope that viewers of ‘Los Lecheros’ come away with a better understanding of the dairy industry’s dependency on immigrant workers, the flaws in the current U.S. visa system and the effects of current legislation on people’s lives, families and local economies. But in particular, I hope that viewers feel the warmth and personal integrity of John, Miguel, Luisa and Guillermo whom I came to know through this project.”
The nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism (www.WisconsinWatch.org) collaborates with Wisconsin Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Television, other news media and the UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication. All works created, published, posted or disseminated by the Center do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of UW-Madison or any of its affiliates.
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