This documentary teaser is part of a multi-platform project aimed at creating awareness around a UN Summit to be held in NYC 2016, which will address drug control policies around the world. Through the telling of real stories of those who suffer the consequences of the war on drugs, our aim is to encourage people around the world to participate in this conversation.
Context + Background
The war on drugs has had a detrimental affect on human rights in ‘war-torn’ countries and it is the marginalised of these societies who are most compromised when there is war. There is a disconnect between the people who suffer the consequences and the people who can help deliver a better solution. The Welcome To Tijuana project is a way to include the disenfranchised in to an important conversation and share experiences and knowledge. The Welcome To Tijuana project explores what it’s like to live in a failed state and how everyday people try to combat a faceless enemy who is everywhere, can be anyone and everyone at the same time.
The Creative Feature Documentary: The Mexican government put the Narco-State before its citizens. One man risked life and limb to make it known.
With a chain of successful human rights campaigns against extorting Tijuana officials under his belt, maverick activist Victor dares to make a public denunciation against the state of Baja California when he stumbles upon evidence that the government is colluding with the notorious Arellano-Felix drug cartel. When the evidence is proven to be falsified, will Victor survive his decision, or will fall in the face of such insurmountable odds?
Victor built his reputation as a maverick defender of the most marginalised of his society from the extorting hands of local police. Victor is the godfather of the Olvidados, the ‘forgotten’ of this group who reside in the Red Light District’s microcosm comprised of street prostitutes, transsexual street prostitutes, Mixteca native Mexican street vendors, good cops and people smugglers. Victor is the thread that connects all of Tijuana’s Olvidados to each other as we are taken through the every day turmoil of an infamously seedy place where the West airs and feeds the vices it hides at home. We see how the ‘forgotten’ find within themselves the will to fight for a life of dignity: How despite the crippling war, they come out fighting with hope and a sense of humour. We see that they are not victims despite being victimised by society, government and law. They are victors in their every day battles, with Victor.
