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Title: American Nightmare
Runtime: 7 min
Country: USA
Director: Jesus Nebot
Placement: Award of Excellence
Competition: December, 2018
Synopsis: A traffic stop due to speeding takes a turn for the worse landing a mother and her 5 year old daughter in jail.
OR: What was the inspiration for your film?
JN: The zero tolerance policy that caused the separation of 2,713 migrant children from their asylum-seeking parents and the unfair criminalization of undocumented immigrants and refugees by our current Trump administration.
OR: When did you conceive the idea for your film and how long did it take before it was realized?
JN: We shot it in one day 3 weeks after I had the idea.
OR: What was the most challenging aspect of working in a short film format?
JN: Secure a professional crew with a very limited budget. I told them the film format was short but its ambitions were enormous and well worth it. We have since then won 5 film festivals and the film has been viewed by more than 1,100,000 people.
OR: What was the most challenging aspect of your production?
JN: Dealing with permits and traffic during the day of the shoot.
OR: Do you have any advice for first-time filmmakers?
JN: Be aware that getting the film shot is only the first step. You will need time, budget and passion to finish the film and make sure it goes to places.