Which Way Home

Last updated
Which Way Home
Which Way Home.jpg
Directed byRebecca Cammisa
Produced byRebecca Cammisa
Cinematography
  • Lorenzo Hagerman
  • Eric Goethals
Edited by
  • Pax Wassermann
  • Madeleine Gavin
Music by James Lavino
Production
company
Distributed by HBO Films
Release date
  • January 31, 2009 (2009-01-31)
Running time
90 minutes
CountryUnited States
Languages
  • English
  • Spanish

Which Way Home is a 2009 documentary film directed by Rebecca Cammisa. The film follows several children who are attempting to get from Mexico and Central America to the United States, on top of a freight train that crosses Mexico known as "La Bestia" (The Beast). Cammisa received a Fulbright Scholar Grant to make the documentary in 2006. The film premiered on HBO on August 24, 2009.

Contents

Synopsis

Every year, thousands of Latin American migrants embark on a journey of hundreds of miles to reach the United States, with many traveling atop freight trains. Approximately five percent of these solo travelers are children. Amid ongoing debates on immigration reform in the United States, the documentary 'Which Way Home' offers a unique perspective on the issue, as seen through the eyes of children who undertake this perilous journey with remarkable courage and resourcefulness.

Characters

Reception

Critical response

Which Way Home has an approval rating of 100% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 8 reviews, and an average rating of 7.79/10. [1]

Awards and nominations

Won

  • Emmy, 2010 - Outstanding Informational Programming-Long Form [2]

Nominated

  • Academy Award 2010 - Best Documentary Feature
  • Spirit Award 2010 - Best Documentary [3]

Soundtrack

An excerpt from the soundtrack (heard at 0:07:10 and again at 1:06:00) by James Lavino has been adopted by the Turner Classic Movies network to accompany the introduction trailer to feature film presentations in 2016.

References

  1. "Which Way Home". Rotten Tomatoes .
  2. Sundance.org/ Archived 2010-12-13 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Spirit Awards website