Parents of the Year/Padres Del Año True Story of Mother Who Collects Bottles and Cans to Put Her Son through MIT
Los Angeles, CA – Award-winning Filmmaker/Author James D. Scurlock and civil rights activist/film producer David Damian Figueroa have announced the launch of a crowdfunding campaign to fund development of a feature version based on Scurlock’s short documentary film, Parents of the Year (Padres del Año) winner of the 2005 Los Angeles Film Festival Audience Award. Scurlock will co-write and produce the film, which Figueroa will executive produce.
Parents of the Year (Padres del Año) which originally aired on HBO, tells the true story of Rogelio and Yolanda Garcia, immigrants from Oaxaca, Mexico, who came to America in the late 1970s only to lose their jobs in the Reagan recession. After enduring a series of part-time jobs that ultimately proved an unreliable source of income, Yolanda began foraging the garbage bins around Venice Beach. In 2005, fulfilling a lifelong dream, their eldest son, Rogelio, Jr., graduated from MIT. The Garcias’ daughter, Adrianne, and younger son, Angel, have both since graduated from college.
“The Garcias’ story is a universal one of breaking a cycle of poverty and abuse,” observed Scurlock. “Given the immigration debate, this timeless story has become unbelievably timely and important.”
Figueroa, who is a producer of the documentaries The Harvest and Food Chains, added, “When I was a child I used to collect enough bottles to fill a grocery basket and then take them to get cash at the little market in our neighborhood.
There are a lot of Yolanda’s in America doing heroic things each day to advance the lives of their children.” Thanks to widespread media coverage, Yolanda Garcia has already become a hero to millions.
“This woman’s courage, vision and strength are so unbelievable,” said Dolores Huerta, UFW co-founder and recipient of the 2011 Medal of Freedom. “Her actions go beyond sacrifice.” Said Tom Saenz, president and general counsel of MALDEF, “At a time when misinformation and disinformation too often dominate political debate over immigration reform, Parents of the Year will be a powerful narrative, contradicting commonly-held myths about why Mexican immigrants come to the United States and about their experiences and those of their children in this country.”
Figueroa and Scurlock have chosen Indiegogo as their crowdfunding platform and produced a brand-new video based on the documentary that also uses historical footage to underline how the political climate has changed since the time of the Garcias’ emigration. It can be viewed at the following URL: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/parents-of-the-year-feature-film/x/6191220. For more information, please contact James D. Scurlock at 310-266-9692.
As of February 4th, there are seventeen (17) days to donate to reach a goal of $50,000.
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