CNN to air ‘Documented’ on prime time on June 29th

Immigration ˑ No Comments Posted: May 25th, 2014 ˑ Filled under: Entertainment

Jose Antonio Vargas’s film “ Documented ” will be aired by CNN on June 29, but that should not stop you from watching this emotionally charged documentary when it comes to your city.

It will be the first time that CNN will be airing a documentary on prime time “with lots of Tagalog in it,” is the tongue-in-cheek way Jose put it.

“Documented” has been well received and is critically acclaimed. The film chronicles Jose’s journey from the Philippines to the United States, from the time he was handed by his mother to a stranger who would deliver him to his grandparents in California. He was 12 then. On turning 30, he revealed in a New York Times essay that he, a Pulitzer Award-winning journalist, is an undocumented immigrant, no different from the 11 million others who are challenging the government to enact a law that would grant them citizenship.

Writes The Hollywood Reporter: The film “very much succeeds in its goal of putting its vitally important issue front and center, with Vargas emerging as an articulate and sympathetic spokesman for the (immigration) cause…”

Without giving the film away, here are the Top Ten things I learned about Jose Antonio Vargas after watching “Documented.” These are the little details that give the film a lot of heart.

10: Jose did not accept his mother’s friend request on Facebook. (They are now FB friends)

9: Jose was a loving ‘kuya’ to his 2 step siblings.

8: Jose sends ‘balikbayan’ boxes to his mother’s family.

7: Jose had a watch that did not work but wore it anyway because it’s a gift from his ‘lola.’

6: Jose’s tuition fee was paid for by a stranger.

5: Jose broke down/cried when DACA was approved.

4: Jose’s grandparents thought he would just be a regular menial laborer and have a family.

3: Jose acted in school plays.

2: In California, Jose’s ‘lola’ said he was always in front of a computer and hardly touched the food she cooked.

1: Jose had a girlfriend. – Cristina DC Pastor

