Monday-Friday, August 31-September 4, 7 pm
Wednesday, September 2, 4 pm
The Ruth & Bucky Stein Theatre
With unprecedented access, Cartel Land is a riveting, on-the-ground documentary that looks at the journeys of two modern-day vigilante groups and their shared enemy- the murderous Mexican drug cartels. In the Mexican state of Michoacán, Dr. Jose Mireles, a small-town physician known as "El Doctor," leads the Autodefensas, a citizen uprising against the violent Knights Templar drug cartel. Meanwhile, in Arizona's Altar Valley- a narrow, 52-mile-long desert corridor known as Cocaine Alley- Tim "Nailer" Foley, an American veteran, heads a small paramilitary group called Arizona Bored Recon, who goal is to stop Mexico's drug wars from seeping across the border. Filmmaker Matthew Heineman embeds himself in the heart of darkness as Nailer, El Doctor, and the cartels each vie to bring their own brand of justice to a society where institutions have failed. (Rated R, 1 hour 38 minutes)
Winner of both the Directing Award and the Special Jury Award for Cinematography in the U.S. Documentary competition at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.
"By the end of Heineman's rattling 98 minutes, the war on drugs seems more than ever like a war destined to go on forever before being lost on every side."- Micheal Phillips, Chicago Tribune
"If the key to price on real estate is 'location, location, location,' the key to success in vérité-style documentaries is 'access, access' access.' Which is what Cartel Land has in compelling amounts."- Kenneth Turan, Los Angeles Times