Countless Trinity graduates have gone on to do great things, both for their local communities and on a more global level. But few have had as much of an impact or done something as influential as 1998 graduate Roy Germano.
Germano presented his powerful film “The Other Side of Immigration” to a packed theater at the University of Louisville on Sept. 10.
The film had already racked up eight different awards, including being selected for the Las Vegas Film Festival and the Global Peace Film Festival.
Afterwards, Germano took questions from the audience, during which he addressed everything from political subjects relating to his film to the logistics of the filming process itself.
The film is based on more than 700 interviews taken from a survey of rural Mexican villages that was conducted by Germano.
The documentary gives insight into a side of the issue of immigration, often done illegally, that the American public rarely sees.
Highlighted in the film are the plights of several Mexican citizens, ranging from political figures to farm workers to wives and children.
By providing people with an alternate view of Mexican immigration, the film allows for the audience to have a more rounded look at an important issue in today’s society.
“I think we’ve devolved into a sound-bite society,” Trinity teacher Mr. Rob Seng said. “We don’t research issues that matter and seem to just take people’s word for it.”
“The Other Side of Immigration” will give people the opportunity to look at an issue from both sides, an important facet of forming an opinion, especially in today’s complex and ever-changing world.
It’s vital that pioneering individuals such as Roy Germano continue to come to the forefront of the world’s issues to ensure that people have all views and opinions presented to them.
“It’s important that people step up to the plate because if no one did we would have less information,” freshman Richard Jackey-Williams said. “It’s good that people do that so we know what’s happening in the world and not just in America.”