Lost & Found (Story of a DREAM Act Student)

Short film about an undocumented student at UCLA and the DREAM Act. Originally done through the Armed with a Camera fellowship through Visual Communications in Little Tokyo, LA. May 2007.

An update on Stephanie (2009):
"My life goes on today much like it does in 'Lost and Found'; if anything, it is remarkable in how unchanging it is -- the surreal byproduct of being undocumented. I'm still in the middle of my senior year at UCLA as a Creative Writing major (although this is now my seventh year of college), since I'm eternally forced into long financial hiatuses from school. I still spend half my life on public transportation, hours away from campus; I do odd jobs to survive, from proofreading to housecleaning; I create weird makeshift bedrooms out of friends' dining room floors. And after I finally graduate, I still have no way of knowing what "graduation" will mean for someone like me.

But these past few years of volunteering and sharing my story (with everyone from the mainstream media to community leaders to scared high schools students) have taught me that my one little story represents thousands of untold stories. My life is mighty strange -- strange because one believes it's an experience we wouldn't willingly create for our children -- and yet it is far from unique. I am one among many.

When I was a kid, I never understood why my family was always struggling, broke, moving, or what that secretly meant; I believed, in my own way, that I was just another American kid. Now I am old enough to understand that I was right. I hope the DREAM Act will help me reclaim my identity and my future."

more info on steph: http://dailybruin.com/stories/2008/fe...
more info on the filmmaker: http://www.vconline.org/a-camera-and-...
DREAM Act info: www.dreamactivist.org and www.undergroundundergrads.com

• Category

  Nonprofits & Activism

[dirtydan1993]

"Nobody looks at the little girl and thinks, 'What happens to her when she grows up?'"

That got to me...

[saifayouby]

1) Stealing a car has no ties in a child being brought here illegal who wants nothing but to be educated and live. 2) They pay States taxes, sale taxes, property taxes. They use Tax Payer ID which gets collected and in return put into YOUR retirement plan. Nearly 8 Billion dollars is generated from illegals to give you a nice retirement. Also this country is not your EITHER and it was stolen from Native Americans and Latinos. Maybe YOU need to go back to your country.

[sayouby]

White genocide? go take your medicine.

[Spitfire995]

The old ''you stole it so now anyone can come here both legally or illegally'' excuse, eh? Obviously you have no problem with the ongoing white genocide.

[MrReallionaire100]

if u apply for a loan of any kind they ask for ur race classification ,once u take ownership of ur pain u start to heal ,and thats a fact.btw alan if u had a daughter would u let her date an blkman.ur just a smoke blower,,just remember im the smoke blower..and ur full of bullshit.mexicans r some of the most racist people i met,people just look around and see if mex r helping u,they only hire there own.

[Alan Covarrubias]

the fact that you classify people according to their race is what makes you a disgrace. when i look at this girl, the first thing i think about is not whether she's black, white, asian, mexican, indian etc. I look at a girl who's rights were stripped away from her without her doing anything wrong. stop classifying people according to their race or ethnicity. learn to take a step back and realize that no matter what race a person is, they are still people with emotions just like you and me

[MrReallionaire100]

ok almost every country in the world at one time had some kind of revolution to take back there gov,why cant u illegals get ur gov back,instead u run from ur problems and create another,cowards.even blks fought for equal rights when the odds were against them,1000's of people in the middle east r dying now for whats right,ur drugs and fucked up gov is not my problem.whites r paying attention ,believe me the 14th amendment will be crushed before u get ur wheels spinning,,buddy

[MrReallionaire100]

you mexicans r funny,dry up ur tears and listen,u only feel this way,becuz she is brown,if she was blk or white ,u wouldnt give a shit,obama is trying to bat for uguys,and ur raza wont help no other race.i know mex business owners.when is the last time u seen a blk serving food at a mexican eatery.btw mexico kill there illegals from central amercas,and u call me a disgrace,,,u mexicans practice what u preach,

[Alan Covarrubias]

oh yeah lets just leave this girl to be undocumented because her parents crossed illegally. who gives a shit about her, i mean you're doing fine right, so it doesnt affect you at all. so why should you give a fuck. we should all just worry about ourselves and be inhumane towards others. lets see how far that takes us. i'm sure thats what God would want. you're a disgrace to humanity

[MrReallionaire100]

We all have to pay for the crimes of are fathers,so these kids parents crossed in illegally, so they have to pay...according to the Bible..sin is sin,,you must fallow mans laws as well as GODS,,,enough said people..