The debate over immigration is the issue that never seems to go away. While it may flare hot, especially during this Presidential election year, the solutions to the problems of "illegals" is not a simple one. America has always been a refuge for those seeking economic, political and religious freedom. On the other hand, are "illegals" offering themselves as cheap alternatives to American workers, whose job security has become all the more tentative in a depressed economy.

Adding to the debate over this divisive, yet human issue is LA AMERICANA by writer/director Nicholas Bruckman. The hour-long documentary makes its World Premiere debut at the Palm Beach International Film Festival today.

The film follows the journey of an "illegal" immigrant, who travels from from Bolivia to New York City and back, as she struggles to save the disabled daughter she left behind. When Carmen fights to legalize her immigration status in the U.S., personal and political tragedies converge. Filmed in three countries and told through a compelling cinéma-vérité narrative, her story is woven into the current immigration crisis in the United States, putting a human face on this timely and controversial issue.

LA AMERICANA is in the Festival's Documentary Feature Competition. For more information on the film, visit the film's website: http://www.la-americana.com/

Sandy Mandelberger, Palm Beach FF Dailies Editor