- Welcome to Independent Lens.
I'm Pete Schwaba,
host of PBS Wisconsin's Director's Cut.
Tonight, we meet a migrant crew
who faces great physical and geographical challenges
as they plant trees here in America,
thanks to the controversial guest worker visa program
in the film A Thousand Pines.
The work is backbreaking enough, but there is heartache too
as our characters do it all far away from their families
in Mexico.
The foreman of this hardworking crew
is the film's leading man, Raymundo Morales.
Morales spends nine months a year in America,
planting pine trees to support his wife and children back home.
Raymundo does his best to stay focused on his work
for an Arkansas-based forestry company
while trying to stay connected to his family
who struggle without their father and husband.
Reymando is in his 20th season of planting trees,
which equates to being away from his loved ones
for roughly 15 years.
The silver lining?
He hopes that one day,
his children will have a better life than him.
As Morales and his crew work hard rain or shine
to replenish America's pine forests,
they become a small family themselves.
They long for news from back home, which isn't always good.
The workers feel even more isolated
with news of a family illness or death.
A Thousand Pines is directed
by Sebastián Díaz and Noam Osband.
The co-directors used a cinéma vérité style
to add intimacy to the viewing experience.
Also adding authenticity for viewers
is the fact that the two men behind the camera
bring genuine life experience to the story.
Sebastián Díaz is a Mexican immigrant
and knows firsthand how challenging it can be
relying on visas
and long-distance familial relationships.
Noam Osband was raised in Boston in a Jewish family.
A previous film of Osband's, Adelante, told a story
about Mexican immigrants
who helped revitalize an Irish Catholic parish in Pennsylvania.
He is also very familiar with the setting for the film,
having spent time in Arkansas teaching high school.
Now, sit back and relax, as we bring you a film
about isolation, struggle, and sacrifice.
A Thousand Pines starts now on PBS Wisconsin,
your home for independent film.