Director Gregory Nava’s El Norte is returning to the big screen on September 15 for its anniversary celebration, according to IndieWire, and will be shown in 200 theaters on the beginning of National Hispanic Heritage Month. The film details the journey of two teenagers, Rosa and Enrique, leaving a violent Guatemalan government with the hopes of reaching the U.S. for a better life. El Norte was amongst the first independent films to be released on VHS and will see a digital release from Lionsgate.
During the film’s initial premiere, El Norte received a lot of praise for how its characters’ experience related to the public. The two siblings, played by Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez and David Villalpando, were viewed as a representation of the plight faced by Central American migrants leaving the instability of their country during the 1980s. Beyond this aspect, the film’s tangible impacts include spurring action toward passing of the 1986 Immigration Reform and Control Act. Parallels have been drawn between El Norte and the current U.S. immigration situation, thus highlighting its long-term significance in today’s political climate.
In an interview with IndieWire, Nava had this to say on the film’s upcoming theatrical run: “I think that what I’m hoping for is that the film continues to powerfully work on people the way it did when it was originally released, the way that it has continued to over the last 35 years, which was the reason why we made the movie.”
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