Andy Verke and Leslie Arietta
Have you ever wondered about the hardships people endure trying to sneak into America? Thursday night, October 22nd Texas A&M University-Texarkana held a film event in the Eagle Hall in honor of Hispanic Heritage week. Special guest director, Ramon Hamilton, presented his award-winning film SMUGGLED.
As the event began Dr. Rincon welcomed everyone and gave a brief introduction about Ramon Hamilton. Hamilton took over and gave the audience his perspective of his film and a brief bio on himself before the film began. He was inspired to create this film because of the smuggling experiences his mother and friends endured.
10-year-old Miguel and his mother attempt to sneak into America by way of a compartment under a tour bus. With nothing but little water, food, medicine, and a Gameboy to keep them occupied, Miguel and his mother remain hopeful they will be reunited with their husband/father. Their trip gets even more difficult within the last few hours of their bus ride.
Miguel is abruptly awoken by a nightmare and accidentally breaks his mother’s last bottle of insulin. Without her insulin, she will not be able to live much longer. A couple of hours later she gives Miguel a piece of paper with the address to his father’s house and decides to get some rest. When Miguel wakes up from his sleep, he tries to wake his mother and finds that she has passed away.
To make matters worse, the tour bus breaks down on the highway, forcing the passengers to switch buses. When help arrives, Miguel uses what little English he knows to yell for help. As the guy opens the compartment, he makes a run for it and gets away. Eventually he ends up being caught and interrogated by the cops for shoplifting at a grocery store. After being interrogated and barely speaking a word, Officer Salmon takes Miguel in his car and drops him off in the middle of nowhere forcing Miguel to find his father’s house on his own.
Throughout the struggles Miguel faced on his journey, he finds his father’s house and is reunited with him.
SMUGGLED won 5 awards and was selected for 10 more awards.