Still from HIGHWAY TO NOWHERE

HIGHWAY TO NOWHERE

Officer Miller, a Mexican-born US Border Patrol Agent, is torn between the loyalty to his adopted country and his sympathies for the escalating numbers of Mexican nationals he apprehends daily. This dual allegiance puts him at odds with his American-born teenage daughter and on a collision course with a resourceful fleeing Mexican father and two ambitious traffickers, as each struggle to achieve their version of a fading American Dream.

Lanre Olabisi’s script for Highway to Nowhere was selected as a winning screenplay in the 2009 Atlanta Film Festival Screenplay Competition.

Statement by Director Lanre Olabisi

I wrote and directed my first feature film, August the First, because I wanted to move beyond cliché renditions of African American families in film. Similarly, I am compelled to tell a new story. Highway to Nowhere is about illegal immigration, however, I want to portray this story differently–rather than take sides and deliver a message, I want to illustrate these characters through the dreams they pursue, foregoing stereotypical characters such as “the humble, hard-working poor man trying to cross,” or “ruthless human smugglers” yet instead developing much more complex and multifaceted characters.

Such stories resonate with everyone, as they are “human stories” rather than “African American stories” or “Mexican American stories,” etc. Highway to Nowhere revolves around three characters on all sides of illegal immigration.

Much of the story takes place in the Arizona desert, where many illegal immigrants cross from Mexico into the US. It is a fantastic stage that lends itself beautifully to storytelling, where characters are pushed to their limits. In the desert, only the heartiest plans and animals survive and each day is a struggle. In Highway to Nowhere, this is also true of dreams, because as a Mexican saying goes, the desert is where dreams come to die.

- Lanre Olabisi