Farmingville
2004
Directed by Catherine Tambini and Carlos Sandoval
Camino Bluff Productions
New York, NY
In 2000, the shocking hate-based attempted murder of two Mexican day laborers in suburban Long Island brought national attention to the town of Farmingville, NY. Prospects for working with area contractors and landscapers had attracted more than 1,500 day laborers to the centrally located town of 15,000, raising tensions among some longtime residents. When the town proposes the building of a hiring hall for day laborers the plan is met with sharp resistance from both local and national anti-immigrant groups. For nearly a year, filmmakers Carlos Sandoval and Catherine Tambini lived and worked in Farmingville to document the stories of town leaders, residents, day laborers and activists. The resulting film creates empathy for the dilemmas faced by both the migrants and the townspeople. This 78-minute documentary shows how U.S. laws and infrastructure are often at odds with our increasingly globalized economy and how communities can be transformed, not only by changing demographics, but also by polarizing responses to them.
