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As I began the process of making the documentary East LA Interchange, I reached out to Dr. George J. Sánchez, professor of American studies, ethnicity, and history at the University of Southern California (USC), in September 2006.1 I introduced myself as the producer and director of a film that would chronicle the story of Boyle Heights as one of the United States' great places of diversity, inclusion, and activism. I noted, "Your work is of tremendous interest to us and we would be very grateful for any suggestions or input you have at this planning stage of our documentary." Over the next ten years, Sánchez would become a project advisor, subject, and friend of East LA Interchange (Figure 1).
His input was invaluable in making the film what it is today: a ten-time award-winner used by schools and universities, community and activist groups, and nonprofit organizations across the country. Since the film's release in summer 2015, it has already had a broad reach. Throughout the long process of making the documentary, Sánchez met with me several times to answer my questions and discuss his work on Boyle Heights. He recommended subjects to interview and articles to read, and he accepted my request to be our first academic interviewee. With his students at USC, he watched our fine cut, the nearly finished version of the film, to give feedback for our final edit. He also attended our sold-out premiere and continues to participate on academic panels concerning the film. Most importantly for me, he speaks highly about East LA Interchange. I am truly honored to have made him proud.
East LA Interchange tells the story of working-class, immigrant Boyle Heights, the oldest neighborhood in East Los Angeles. Targeted by government policies, real estate laws, and California planners, this quintessential immigrant neighborhood survives racially restrictive housing covenants, Japanese American internment, federal redlining policies, lack of political representation, and the building of the largest and busiest freeway interchange system in North America, the East LA Interchange. We witness Boyle Heights' remarkable legacy of political activism, multiculturalism, and interethnic organizations and friendships in the face of harsh political, spatial, and economic realities. We see how outside forces have affected residents' lives and altered the relationship between the diverse cultures...