American Exile: Virtual Screening & Discussion with PBS SoCal

Date and Time

Friday, November 12, 2021
4:00 PM

Location

Online

About

Join PBS SoCal as we celebrate Veterans Day with a one-hour virtual event, including a partial screening of AMERICAN EXILE, a brand new film from Latino Public Broadcasting.

Following the screening, filmmaker John Valadez, Valente Valenzuela and Mariela Sagastume will discuss important topics raised in the film and answer audience questions. The discussion will be moderated by journalist and author, Pilar Marrero.

Film Synopsis

Fifty years ago, brothers Valente and Manuel Valenzuela both volunteered and fought in Vietnam. They returned home decorated and disabled. Now approaching their 70s, they’ve received notices of deportation. Distraught and confused, the brothers were shocked to learn that they are not alone. Because of changes in national policy, thousands of veterans are being deported. So, they don their uniforms for one last fight; to bring deported veterans and their families back home. It’s a mission that will leave one brother exiled in a foreign land, while the other will go all the way to the White House. Filmed over the course of seven years, AMERICAN EXILE is the story of two unlikely war heroes who are reluctantly transformed into veteran’s rights activists. Their fight would eventually help change national policy, and with it the lives of veterans and their families across the nation. As a result of the Valenzuela brothers' efforts, President Biden ordered, on July 3, 2021, the Department of Homeland Security to immediately create a process for deported veterans and their families to return home to the United States.