Dryden Dec. 8 event includes documentary on migrant crisis, followed by panel discussion
Years ago I had the pleasure of meeting Robert Bilheimer and Heidi Ostertag, and writing of their filmmaking company, Worldwide Documentaries.
Then I was writing of an anti-trafficking film from Bilheimer, a local filmmaker whose AIDS-related documentary, A Closer Walk, was an Oscar nominee. Through the years, I’ve kept touch as the company worked diligently, even during a pandemic, to bring to the screen a documentary that shows the harrowing plight of migrants escaping war-torn countries, gangs, and increasingly worsening droughts.
On Monday, Dec. 8. at the Dryden Theatre, Running to Stand Still: Migrants Search For Hope In The Promised Land, will kick off a panel discussion on immigration, the current crackdown, and its impact on local communities and beyond. I’m honored to moderate the panel and its “town hall” type discussion.
Info here on film: Running to standstill website
While free, RSVPs are helpful. Already, a good number of people have signed up to attend. Here is a link with an RSVP: Running to Stand Still RSVP
Worldwide, also, is celebrating its 40th anniversary this year,
I’m now off to the Oak Hill trial at the Hall of Justice. This press release from Worldwide Documentaries provides more info. Hope to see you there.
Monday’s event
“Worldwide Documentaries, a local not-for-profit documentary film production company, announces a special event featuring a screening of its recently released film, Running To Stand Still- Migrants Search For Hope In The Promised Land on December 8, 2025 from 7:00 - 9:30 PM at the Dryden Theatre.
The film puts a human face on the world’s immigrant and migrant communities and depicts the human toll U.S. immigration policies are taking on children and families across the United States.
Attendees will watch a screening of the film followed by the premiere of a short advocacy video highlighting the current realities impacting local immigrant communities in Rochester and the surrounding WNY/CNY regions, and an engaging town hall style panel discussion.
The town hall discussion, moderated by Gary Craig, will feature panelists including City of Rochester Mayor Malik Evans (Introduction); Mitch Gruber, Rochester City Council; Miguel Meléndez, Rochester City Council, Ibero-American Action League; Mary Andrecolich-Montesano (Diaz), Principal of the Rochester International Academy; Jim Morris, VP, Family Prosperity, Catholic Charities Family & Community Services; and Irene Sanchez, Executive Director, Enlace Services, Inc. (WNY Coalition of Farmworker Serving Agencies, Inc.).
“Through discussions with local organizations and individuals working on the frontlines of immigration issues, we have learned that there is an immediate need in the Rochester and surrounding WNY/CNY communities for an awareness and advocacy communications tool to support the critical ongoing work of those who are advocating for the rights of vulnerable immigrants,” says Heidi Ostertag, Executive Producer.
To address this need, the team at Worldwide Documentaries has produced a 5-minute video, When They Come For Me, which will be shown following the film, and it will share stories about the challenges faced by local immigrant communities, the response to these realities, and identify pathways to immigration reform from a local perspective.”