Brett Tolley's Biography
Brett Tolley was born and raised in Chatham, MA.
He was brought up by a commercial fisherman and a cofounder of a community organization serving adults with disabilities. In his youth, Brett was focused on athletics and did not immediately identify with his parents' professions. Eventually he made the connection between his father's plight against the extinction of gillnetting, his mother's involvement in a non-profit organization, and his own humanitarian nature.
His friendship with a Spanish-speaking child in his Kindergarten class taught Brett not to take the security of his American life for granted. He did not know then how much this unique perspective would impact his life as an adult.
Growing up in Chatham, Brett experienced the safe, small community in the Winter and the 20,000 person population jump in the Summer. He recalls inheriting local irritation toward the tourists for "invading" his home. Today, that attitude seems ironic to him, as he now works to challenge that same type of old-fashioned thinking. In adulthood, he realized that it didn't make sense to loathe the same people that helped to sustain his community.
Presently, Brett is an immigrant advocate in Brooklyn, overlapping his interests in law, health, politics, his community, social services, and education. He is currently helping to organize an environmental justice committee lead by community members working together to strengthen the health system. His favorite part of the job is his involvement with people of the community. When not fighting injustice, Brett spends time with his fiance, or partner in crime, as he puts it, sharing a world view which thrives on a mutual energy and passion. He is quick to say that without her narration and immeasurable help, Dying to Get In would not have become all that it is today.
The Interview
Sarah Hutto: At what point did you know you were going to make this film?
Brett Tolley: I was having a bowl of soup in a migrant shelter and sitting across the table from a man who had just been deported. He had walked 6 days in the desert without having anything to eat. He told me about his journey
and I knew then that more people needed to hear his story, and the story of millions of others just like it.
SH: Did you have a crew already in mind for the project, or did you have to seek the right individuals out?
BT: I dIdn't have a crew for this project. I used no lights. I had no external microphones. I had no editors or film choreographers. At one point I gave a little kid my camera to use because he was really interested in what I was doing. I ended up using a couple seconds of his footage.
SH: Did you approach the project with a message already in mind? If so, how did that message change during the documentary's making, if at all?
BT: My message was the message of the migrants crossing the border. I didn't know what that was until I began asking people. In the middle of every interview I asked, "If you could share one message to the people where I come from, who know nothing of this experience or why its happening, what would your message be?" That is what I was most interested in and I tried my best to make a video that reflected those answers.
SH: Did anything surprise you about the country, once there?
BT: The wall surprised me the most. The 12 ft.-high steel barrier between our countries is the ugliest thing I have ever seen. A migrant I met called it "The Wall of Embarrassment". Mounted on the Mexican side of the wall are crosses in memory of all the migrants who have died trying to cross. I remember seeing a huge American flag with Nazi symbols drawn in place of the stars. I have never forgotten that image.
SH: What in your opinion, is the best thing that could come out of this documentary?
BT: The best would be for millions of people to watch it, a full overhaul of our nation's immigration policy with amnesty included, for our walls to be torn down, and for our countries foreign exploitative economic system
to stop... I can always hope. Realistically, the best thing that could result from the documentary is to humanize our country's new immigrants and to create a dialogue for people with no connection there.
SH: Did you have any run-ins with Mexican authority figures?
BT: Sure, I had lots of run-ins. Generally authority figures do not like cameras and I was told many times not to film. I met a lot of nice policeman and government agents who helped me out as well.
SH: What steps did you take to remain unintrusive while you were around your subjects?
BT: I was almost always being intrusive wherever I was. Tall white guys in remote border towns on the Mexican side don't generally blend in. But I talked with some people, built relationships and then little by little I gained trust. Two things helped the most:
a. I was all by myself. I think people saw how vulnerable I was and that made it easier.
b. All my video equipment fit inside one pocket of my shorts. The small camera and no formal set up made people feel more comfortable. I don't think I could have made this film any other way. I would meet people,
tell them what I was doing and then ask if I could film and ask some questions. They would be like, "OK. How are you going to do that, where do we have to go?". I'd reach into my pocket, pull the hand-held camera and say, "Right now, we're rolling".
SH: How did you gain the trust of the people making the crossing?
BT: I don't really know. It didn't seem hard. The migrants who I met were very nice and willing to share their stories. They wanted me and other people to know their story.
SH: Did you have to bribe anyone to gain access or get out of any sticky situations?
BT: One night I was going to cross with a group and at the last minute decided not to. I was stuck in a very remote area about 50 miles away from any town. The van drivers who shuttle migrants back and forth were still making trips back into town. I asked a guy for a ride and told him I'd buy him a 6 pack of Tecate when we got back. He agreed but I think he would have done it without me offering him beer.
SH: Were there any interviews or footage that you really wanted, but were prevented from capturing?
BT: There were many conversations and things that happened that I did not get on camera. I was sitting in a room with my host-Mexican family (who lived in the border town), two migrants from southern Mexico looking to
cross and three guys from Honduras. We were talking about the border and sharing our very diverse perspectives on the situation when my tape ran out and I had no backup. Another time I met a coyote who showed me around. The biggest one was when I had a ride-along with a border patrol officer and his partner off duty. Off camera these guys gave me the "inside scoop" on what the border was really like. They scared me with how racist and lawless they and their co-officers were. They would have definitely got fired had what they said got on film. They talked about migrants like they were animals that nobody likes.
SH: Did your interviewees fill out formal release forms or was permission handled more casually?
BT: All of the government agents and lawyers and basically people with power who I interviewed filled out formal written release forms. For the migrants who I interviewed I asked for permission verbally in a more casual manner.
SH: Were you concerned for the safety of those whose identities were exposed in the film?
BT: Not really. The reality of the millions of undocumented people who cross and the traceability of their identities once inside the U.S. is that it would be near impossible for anyone to be in danger of deportation by homeland security. Homeland security is not very concerned with tracking down and deporting hard working latino immigrants already here in the U.S.
SH: Were you afraid at anytime while filming in Mexico?
BT: Yes, the border is a very dangerous place and a lot of people die there. Watching entire families risk their lives every day inspired me to keep going with the project.
SH: How involved did you become with your subjects? At any time did you want to stop and help them?
BT: Of course, I wanted to help everyone. The hardest thing was watching little children who didn't know what was happening. I wanted to walk with them to make sure they crossed safely. I had to tell myself over and over again that the best way I could help was to do a good job with the video.
SH: How much footage was left on the cutting room floor? What was your shooting ratio?
BT: I film about 30 hours worth of footage and the final product was 40 minutes. I guess that ratio isn't too bad compared to some other documentaries I have heard about.
SH: What sorts of reactions have you observed in Mexican Americans who have viewed the film?
BT: I was invited to present the video at a church in North Carolina and had no idea what to expect. When I arrived the place was packed with about 200 people mostly undocumented Mexicans. I was never so nervous for a presentation as I was that day. If they didn't like it, I thought to myself, I'd have to stop the project and not show it anymore. Fortunately the video had a great response. A line of about 20 people formed after the showing of people sharing with me their similar experiences. That night a committee formed to address immigrant right issues in the church and in the community.
SH: What is the worst experience with critism you've had since sharing the film with the general public?
BT: The criticism that has hurt the most, because it is true, is that the documentary focuses too much on immigrants from Mexico and does not acknowledge that a lot of migrant crossers come from other central and south American countries. This is important criticism and I try to acknowledge it whenever I can.
SH: Will you continue to address this issue, and how?
BT: I'm working full-time now in Brooklyn as an immigrant advocate. I work with a grass-roots organization to address immigrant rights at work, in the house, on health issues, and in the banking system. I also teach ESOL classes.
SH: Do you have any plans to return to Mexico, and with what purpose?
BT: No plans right now. With my work in Brooklyn, I have met a lot of close friends who are from Mexico. I would like one day to visit them in their home towns.
SH: What's your next documentary project?
BT: I'm in the research phase of a new film project together with some people I've met in Brooklyn. There are a hundred documentaries that can still be made on this issue and I hope to be a part of that.
