Free Film Screening and Panel Discussion to Be Presented by Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota

Free Film Screening and Panel Discussion to Be Presented by Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota

Critically acclaimed documentary follows a Polish American's story of love and loss while navigating the American immigration system

ST. PAUL, Minn., Nov. 1 /PRNewswire/ -- The Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota (ILCM), with underwriting from The Minneapolis Foundation, will host a free, public screening of the critically acclaimed documentary film Tony and Janina's American Wedding. The screening will be heldat the Riverview Theater in Minneapolis on Thursday, November 10 beginning at 7 p.m., and will be followed by a panel discussion on immigration reform with award winning director and producer Ruth Leitman, ILCM Executive Director John Keller, Minneapolis School Board Member Alberto Monserrate, and a Minnesota family who has a similar journey to the family profiled in the film.

In the current context of the 2012 presidential campaign--as candidates' positions on immigration policies continue driving headlines--Tony and Janina's American Wedding offers a sobering look at one family's experience navigating the American immigration system. The feature length film follows Tony and Janina Wasilewski's family when, after 18 years in America, Janina is deported back to Poland, taking their six-year-old American son with her. Set against the backdrop of the Chicago political scene, and featuring Illinois Congressman Luis Gutierrez at the center of the immigration reform movement, this film follows the Wasilewski family's three-year struggle to be reunited as their Senator, Barack Obama rises to the Presidency.

"The struggle faced by the Wasilewski family mirrors hundreds of cases we work on here in Minnesota every year," says Keller. "Each case that results in families being torn apart through deportation is uniquely heartbreaking and sends pain and loss throughout the community."

With screenings in 100 communities since its release in October 2010, the film has gained prominence in recent months--including a recent screening for members of Congress hosted by Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Rep. John Conyers Jr. (D-MI), and Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA).

"People are connecting with this film because it cuts through stereotypes and invites conversations that are focused solely on the facts," says Leitman of her film. "Like thousands of families across the country, the Wasilewskis were an all-American family, senselessly torn apart by a system that is in terrible need of being fixed. The film brings to life the negative effects of the 10-year bar to returning to the U.S. that Janina faced, and shows the extreme hardship that Tony, Janina, and Brian endured in trying to navigate our current immigration system."

There is no cost for admission. However, individual contributions to ILCM will be matched by the Carl and Eloise Pohlad Family Foundation up to $10,000. All proceeds will go to ILCM's continued provision of immigration-related legal services to Minnesota families.

The Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota serves low-income immigrants and refugees of all nationalities. ILCM's mission is to provide quality immigration legal services, law-related education, and advocacy to meet the steadily increasing needs of Minnesota's immigrant and refugee communities.

For more information about the film and director Ruth Leitman, please contact Steve Dixon/co-producer, steve.ruthlessfilms@gmail.com or 708-613-4073, or visit www.tonyandjanina.com or www.ruthlessfilms.com.

SOURCE Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota

Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota

CONTACT: John Keller, Immigrant Law Center of Minnesota, +1-651-641-1011, ext. 203

Web Site: http://www.ruthlessfilms.com

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