CONTRIBUTE TO THE SCREENING FUND TODAY: http://igg.me/p/479830/x/174255 “…this film is as important to American awareness as Bowling For Columbine, Into The Abyss or Super Size Me.” ~ Filmmaking Review THE STORY "Art demands a certain amount of risk, whether it's the emotional risk of being able to walk up to someone and stick a camera in their face, or the physical risk of putting yourself in sketchy situations...it takes a certain amount of courage to do that." ~ Chris Bava in Exile Nation: The Plastic People Shot under extremely dangerous conditions using concealed cameras, The Plastic People captures the humanity in the millions of Mexican American deportees as they struggle to survive a Cartel war, forced to live in cardboard shacks and sewer pipes, creating an ever expanding underworld of exiles. Narrated by photographer Chris Bava, The Plastic People captures the humanity in the millions of (non)Americans who spent most of their lives in the U.S., only to find themselves deported to Tijuana. Filmed in Tijuana, this film follows the lives of three men who have found themselves stuck in an impossible situation as drug addicts, criminals and deportees, and who they become under these extraordinary conditions; how they find meaning, purpose and ultimately, redemption. CHRIS BAVA - Expat photographer, club owner and former heroin trafficker who moved to Tijuana to participate in ibogaine therapy for a relapse of a long time drug addiction. In Tijuana, Chris stumbles upon a vast network of thousands of American deportees living along the border without any hope of returning to their families. Most are lost within “the nightmare of addiction,” a place Chris knows all too well. In his attempts to help them, and bring their stories out, Chris both reconnects with his photography and is forced to confront his own past and the consequences of his early years in crime, and the "nightmare of addiction" that touched so many he knew. JAVIER GODINEZ MONDRAGON - Mexican-American deportee who immigrated with his family when he was a young boy, and was deported at age 30 for a drug possession charge after serving four years in a Nevada prison under their “Zero Tolerance” statutes. Dragon is the “Alpha” of the homeless deportees living along the border with a strong will to get out of this life. Dragon takes us deep inside the lives (and sewer drain hovels ) of these lost Americans in a way that no “gringo” outsider could. JONATHAN ESPINOZA - A 19-year old deportee who immigrated at age 5 and spent his entire life in the United States. Barely able to speak Spanish, Johnny was deported after a fight with a former classmate was inflated by police into charges of “assault with a deadly weapon” and “Street Terrorism.” The boys were falsely labelled as “gang members” simply because they were both Latino, and both received lifetime deportation after serving jail sentences. Johnny had recently wed his High School girlfriend, Zoe, yet despite having lived in the US for 15 years and marrying a citizen, he did not even receive a judicial review or have any opportunity to plead his case to anyone. In the background is a tableau of spouses, children and parents, American citizens and Mexican-American deportees living along the border. The Plastic People reveals how the exploitative policies of a failed war on drugs and immigrants added Tijuana's "Zona Norte" to the growing international crisis of "nationless peoples." Nomad Cinema, Lucidity Productions, and Filament Features presents... EXILE NATION: THE PLASTIC PEOPLE Written, Photographed & Directed by Charles Shaw Featuring the photography of Chris Bava Produced by Ronnie Pontiac, Charles Shaw, Tamra Spivey & DJ Turner Executive Producer -- Tiffany Naiman Associate Producers-- Daniel Garcia, Jen Winter Edited by Daniel Garcia & Charles Shaw Music by Random Rab Co-Produced by Lilliana Braico, Star Coniglio, Toni Fitzwater, James Fry, Sara Maurer Principle Photography by Charles Shaw Additional Photography by Jorge Nieto, Ana Andrade, Javier Godinez Mondragon, Taylor Cahill, Sound -- Dennis LaFollette ExileNation.org