Filmmaker Errol Morris premiered his documentary “Separated” at the Venice Film Festival, focusing on the U.S. government’s border policies and family separation. The film sheds light on the Trump administration’s decision to separate migrant parents from their children, resulting in thousands of families being torn apart as part of criminal prosecution efforts for illegal border crossing.
The documentary highlights the Department of Health and Human Services’ involvement in housing minors who could not be kept with their parents in criminal custody. Eventually, under pressure and a court order, Trump reversed the policy in 2018. Figures from the Department of Homeland Security reveal that 3,881 children were separated from their families between 2017 and 2021.
“Separated” is inspired by journalist Jacob Soboroff’s book, “Separated: Inside an American Tragedy,” and is a collaboration between Morris, NBC News Studios, Participant, Fourth Floor, and Moxie Pictures. The film aims to serve as both a reflection of past wrongdoings and a warning for the future regarding such policies.
The documentary includes interviews with key figures such as Elaine Duke, former acting head of the Department of Homeland Security, and whistleblower Jonathan White, along with dramatic reenactments of family separations. The goal is to make the audience remember and understand the truth of what occurred.
President Joe Biden, on his first day in office, issued an executive order to reunite families separated at the border. A task force managed to reconnect nearly 700 children with their families, but almost 1,000 remained apart. Morris expressed the importance of releasing the film before the U.S. presidential election, hoping it could raise awareness and potentially influence policy.
“Separated,” with a runtime of 93 minutes, is currently without distribution. The filmmakers aim for the documentary to prompt reflection on past events and encourage actions to prevent such tragedies from happening again.
