PARK CITY, UTAH — The Big Bend Sentinel is in the news this week, as a film made by two members of our editorial team premieres at the Sundance Film Festival on Sunday. Editor-in-Chief Maisie Crow is the director and a producer on the film, while Managing Editor Abbie Perrault is also producing. Marfa resident Hillary Pierce completed the producing trio.
The film, “At the Ready,” follows the stories of three students at Horizon High School in El Paso, Texas, as they take law enforcement classes and participate in a unique after-school activity: the criminal justice club. Through mock-ups of drug raids and active-shooter takedowns, they inch closer to their desired careers in Border Patrol, policing, and customs enforcement. High school students Kassy and Cesar and recent graduate Cristina navigate the complications inherent in their chosen path and discover their choices may clash with the values and people they hold closest.
“At the Ready” will have two showings at the virtual Sundance festival this year. The first screening happens this Sunday, January 31, at 11:00 a.m. Central time, with a second screening on Tuesday, February 2, at 9:00 a.m. Tickets are still available at: https://tickets.festival.sundance.org/
Before the premiere, Stephen Paulsen, a reporter at The Big Bend Sentinel who was not involved with the film, talked to Crow and Perrault about the movie and their documentary filmmaking process. This interview has been edited for style and clarity.
STEPHEN PAULSEN: Your movie primarily focuses on the struggles these teens face as they train for possible careers in policing while dealing with their own complicated relationship to the border, but they face other identity struggles too. How do you think those other identity struggles played into and informed their decisions to stay on these career tracks?
MAISIE CROW: When we first started working with these students, our film was an exploration of this training program. The more we got to know each student, the more complex their relationship to their chosen career path appeared, and we were able to work with them to really understand how that affected them as individuals. Abbie and I leaned into the personal journeys of these students. We’re not trying to put any preconceived ideas on them. We’re there to listen, learn and understand what each character is going through.
SP: At one point in the movie, Cristina, a lead character, talks about getting bullied for wanting to be in Border Patrol. Did these kids have classmates with similar backstories who didn’t understand why they were drawn to these career paths?
ABBIE PERRAULT: This film dives into this very niche world of criminal justice clubs that obviously isn’t common in a lot of the country. But it’s very prevalent in many communities in Texas; it’s in 900 schools. We saw this world from the inside. We were more interested in what compelled these students to be involved, rather than what compels other people not to be.
SP: Towards the end of the film, Cristina is on the fence about joining BP. She talks about how hard her dad worked and how she has this sense of obligation. But then her dad basically says, “She’s going great places no matter what.” How much do you think a sense of family obligation played into these students’ decisions? And was that pressure really there?
MC: While filming, it became clear that Cristina wants to please her parents. Early in high school, she told them she had a dream of joining Border Patrol. They in turn want to support their daughter and believe in her potential for success. As Cristina further explores this career path, she learns there may be some downsides. I think there may have been some miscommunication between Cristina and her parents, and I hope that in seeing the film she realizes that they are going to be proud of her no matter what she does.
SP: This tension in the movie, between these kids’ backstories and their career goals, continues to amp up throughout the film. There’s Trump talking about migrant “invasions,” the implementation of policies that led to child separation in El Paso and the 2018 Senate race between Ted Cruz and El Paso native Beto O’Rourke. Do you think that national and international events inform the choices these students ultimately make?
MC: I definitely think what was happening in the outside world at the time impacted these students. Regardless of the era or president, there’s always going to be complications and outside factors that influence a career choice in law enforcement. Our film showed students during the Trump administration having to process what his administration’s policies would mean for them. But I think that no matter who is in office or when a film like this is made, there’d be complicating factors that are important to consider when pursuing a job in law enforcement.
AP: National politics can at times feel remote and abstract, especially for people who don’t live on the border. But these students are impacted by national policy changes, and react accordingly. They’re paying attention to what Washington is doing, and they’re making career choices informed by that.
SP: At one point, a Latino instructor seems to surprise his classroom when he says very confidently that he’s voting for Ted Cruz. What differences did you see in how these teens saw their identities, versus how the instructors saw their own?
MC: After the 2020 elections, some Americans were surprised at the way the border region voted. But the border region is just as complex and nuanced as the rest of the country. I feel more aware now than ever of the need to tell stories from the border region.
AP: There’s this misconception of the “Latino vote” being a monolith. I hope our film shows people that border communities are just as diverse and opinionated as any other group is.
SP: Tell us about the reporting process. How’d you settle on these families, and were there any challenges in getting people to talk?
MC: When we research a film, we look for people who want to tell their story. We don’t want to chase people down and force them to share their experience. Cristina was the first student we started filming. She and her family were welcoming and open, and that makes a world of difference when you’re asking people to be vulnerable. One thing I think is important to the process is sharing the film with each main participant before the rest of the world sees it. We watched the film with Cristina and her entire family over Zoom.
AP: I think part of showing the film is making sure that people feel we’ve fairly represented their perspectives — their hopes, dreams and struggles. We were glad to find out that all of our characters felt that way.
SP: When you showed Cristina and her family the film, what was their reaction? What did they take away from it?
MC: For example, Cristina’s family spent time in the film talking about Latinos in Border Patrol. I think they were happy to see those conversations included in the movie. They felt their discussions might help inform other people, particularly people who don’t live in the border regions.
All of the students were very intrigued by each others’ stories. You never really know what’s going on in someone’s life at home. They were all a little surprised to learn about each other — and also excited by it. All three main characters [Cristina, Cesar and Mason] will be part of the Q&A at the Sundance premiere.