We are honored to have been recognized by the Huffington Post as one of 2011′s top news stories! Check the link below to read the article.
CLICK HERE to see the Huffington Post article
The NPR radio piece on Michelle Martin’s TELL ME MORE show is up now: click HERE to listen!
The Wasilewski family reunited on Aug 8, 2011
We will post more pictures soon, but here is a quick photo from the International Premier of the film at the Plus Camerimage Film Festival in Poland – the screening was on Fri Dec 2, 2011! Congrats to Ruth and Tony!
With the unveiling of the administration’s new policy of using prosecutorial discretion to review pending deportation cases, we wondered what your thoughts are? As one commentator put it, “This is a great big giant little first step” in addressing the issues that are at the heart of our immigration policy.
Here is a link from Reform Immigration for America, one from Chicago Now, and one from Immigration Impact that give an overview of the DHS’s announcement – let us know your thoughts:
http://act.reformimmigrationforamerica.org/cms/thanks/top_10_facts_on_DHS_announcement
We attended the national AMERICAN IMMIGRATION LAWYERS ASSOCIATION (AILA) conference in San Diego this past week. Attended by immigration attorneys and others whose jobs relate to immigration law, nearly 3000 AILA members converged on San Diego for an intense 4 days of meetings, panels, discussions, continuing legal education opportunities, and this year, the chance to learn about TONY & JANINA’S AMERICAN WEDDING.
AILA executive director Crystal Williams and Wasilewski family attorney Royal Berg came by to say hello on opening day:
Crystal Williams - executive director of AILA
Attorney Royal Berg at AILA
Our friend Matthew Kolken came by to see us, and we met literally hundreds of attorneys and folks working in immigration law during the course of the 4 day event. Hoping we can screen the film with everyone we spoke with! Looking forward to speaking with everyone we met soon. Thanks for supporting the film, the family and the issue. Special thanks to Crystal Williams and Melissa Lembke for your help.
Attorney Matthew Kolken at our booth at the AILA conference
Director Ruth Leitman and Tony Wasilewski were guests on the MSNBC cable news show THE DYLAN RATIGAN show, where they talked about the impact of our current immigration law on the Wasilewski family, and how the film is a great tool for showing what’s wrong with our current immigration law. Thanks to MSNBC for bringing our story to a national audience.
Click HERE to see Ruth and Tony on the DYLAN RATIGAN show
Ruth and Tony on the set of MSNBC's Dylan Ratigan Show 5/25/2011
If you are a supporter of the film (Tony & Janina’s American Wedding), the family (the Wasilewski’s, and hundreds of thousands of other families torn apart by our current immigration policy), and the issue (compassionate immigration reform), it’s time to TAKE ACTION:
1 – Contact your elected officials and weigh in with your support for fixing our broken laws. We need to let our representatives know that this is an issue that is important to us, and that we want it addressed as soon as possible – to end the suffering of those separated from their families, and to allow those living in the shadows to live the American Dream.
2 – Visit the TAKE ACTION tab on our home page, and quickly and easily send a message to President Obama, asking for a moratorium on deportations until our laws are rewritten, and to intervene specifically in the Wasilewski’s efforts to be reunited in the US. Click HERE to TAKE ACTION.
3 – Set up a screening in your home of Tony & Janina’s American Wedding, and discuss the issue of immigration reform with friends and neighbors, with those who are in favor of reform and those who are not in favor of reform – we need to talk about this issue in hopes of finding common ground. Click HERE to purchase a DVD.
4 – Contact us about setting up a community screening in your town. We’ve shown the film at universities, churches, community centers, museums, movie theaters and more. We’d welcome the chance to work with you to screen the film in your community, and to set up a Q&A session and panel discussion. Click HERE for more details.
Thanks
We hit the road on Sat May 14th, driving over to Bay City MI to screen the film at the beautiful State Theater. The weather was terrible, but we enjoyed the ride over as we hadn’t been to this part of the great state of Michigan before. We had a nice small crowd of concerned and interested viewers who braved the 45 degree temperatures, high winds and at times torrential rains.
The Marquee at the State Theater, Bay City MI
It was a great way to kick off the tour, especially meeting Anita Senkowski, her sister Laura, and father John, who all came out to see the film (which looked and sounded great – what a projection set up they have at the theater). Anita is living proof that you can make a difference. She heard Ruth’s Bob Edwards interview, reached out to us, and offered to help us book the film – lo and behold, several months later, we were meeting at the State for the screening. Here’s a shot of the State’s fabulous facade – built in 1908, restored in the 30′s. Thanks again to everyone who came out.
As we write this, Ruth is presenting the film in Lansing at Cristo Rey Church. More on that screening soon!
As we roll into our tour of Michigan, we’re re-doubling our OUTREACH campaign and trying to raise additional funds to insure that the film is part of the national discussion about immigration, and that Tony, Janina and Brian’s case is known to all.
Please support our efforts by making a donation to our OUTREACH campaign at our new INDIE-GO-GO page – thanks for supporting our efforts for compassionate immigration reform:
Click HERE to donate to our OUTREACH campaign at Indie-go-go
Ruth screened the film 5 times in late April in Connecticut with our friend Jay Klemundt and United Action CT. We’ve stayed in touch with Jay in the weeks since the screening, and support UA-CT’s statewide efforts around the Dream Act and compassionate immigration reform. Yesterday, Jay forwarded me some good news about their efforts. They still have some hurdles to get over, but they are making some noise, and getting things done – check out the link below for more info about their efforts on behalf of approving instate tuition for students. Keep up the good work Jay!
Instate tuition story from CT MIRROR
