Jesse Aizenstat's Blog, page 2
September 28, 2013
On the Trail of Mexican Boat Smugglers
As published on David Axe's "War is Boring" blog, now found at Medium.com. Thanks again David for the guest blogging opportunity. Click here for the original post. *****
On the Trail of Mexican Boat Smugglers
We had one week to document illicit sea trade by JESSE AIZENSTAT
Living in California, you often hear about these small fishing boats called “pangas” that take off from northern Baja and go on all-night trips into the United Sates. Last March I successfully convinced my two friends—one an interpreter, the other a videographer—to go on a weeklong journey to document this Mexican side of smuggling.
Usually, the cargo is migrant workers … and marijuana.
The goal of our endeavor was to see where these panga boats take off from. Along the way we also discovered that the real money in the smuggling economy flows not to the traffickers, but to the U.S. defense industry, which earns billions of dollars supplying the services and equipment that the American government uses to try to stop the smugglers.
As the documentary’s director, host, producer and pretty much everything else, I knew we would have only one chance to get it right.
First off, getting a week off work was a big deal.
Second, we only had that one week to shoot everything we needed. Once we crossed the border, we’d have to capture an interview with a local journalist, experience the wild times in a smuggling seaport, check out a lawless desert where the marijuana is grown and interview someone who had actually been in the smuggling business.
It was daunting, to say the least. They say the freedom to fail is the best part about America. I like that. It motivated us.
Drugs are smuggled into the U.S. in many ways: through the desert, in tunnels, airplanes, cars.We thought that if we focused on what many California newspapers call “the panga story,” we could create a visually striking adventure that to the untrained eye looked like three California dudes going down to Baja on a surf trip. We went in my ‘91 White Ford Bronco, too. O.J. style.
But it wasn’t all thrills and fun. We were trying to make a point—that Americans have become all too willing to just go along with grand military solutions to our immigration and drug problems. In part two of our docu, Dr. David Shirk of the Trans Border Institute at the University of San Diego calls this the “Border Industrial Complex.”
Instead of taking a hard look at our immigration and drug problems and their causes, the United States through the Immigration Reform Act could spend another $50 billion dollars to militarize the border. All this spending on military equipment with no measurement of effectiveness. No system in place to see if any of that spending is actually making us safer.Watch our documentary Baja Smugglers below.
On the Trail of Mexican Boat Smugglers
We had one week to document illicit sea trade by JESSE AIZENSTATLiving in California, you often hear about these small fishing boats called “pangas” that take off from northern Baja and go on all-night trips into the United Sates. Last March I successfully convinced my two friends—one an interpreter, the other a videographer—to go on a weeklong journey to document this Mexican side of smuggling.
Usually, the cargo is migrant workers … and marijuana.
The goal of our endeavor was to see where these panga boats take off from. Along the way we also discovered that the real money in the smuggling economy flows not to the traffickers, but to the U.S. defense industry, which earns billions of dollars supplying the services and equipment that the American government uses to try to stop the smugglers.
As the documentary’s director, host, producer and pretty much everything else, I knew we would have only one chance to get it right.
First off, getting a week off work was a big deal.
Second, we only had that one week to shoot everything we needed. Once we crossed the border, we’d have to capture an interview with a local journalist, experience the wild times in a smuggling seaport, check out a lawless desert where the marijuana is grown and interview someone who had actually been in the smuggling business.
It was daunting, to say the least. They say the freedom to fail is the best part about America. I like that. It motivated us.
Drugs are smuggled into the U.S. in many ways: through the desert, in tunnels, airplanes, cars.We thought that if we focused on what many California newspapers call “the panga story,” we could create a visually striking adventure that to the untrained eye looked like three California dudes going down to Baja on a surf trip. We went in my ‘91 White Ford Bronco, too. O.J. style.
But it wasn’t all thrills and fun. We were trying to make a point—that Americans have become all too willing to just go along with grand military solutions to our immigration and drug problems. In part two of our docu, Dr. David Shirk of the Trans Border Institute at the University of San Diego calls this the “Border Industrial Complex.”
Instead of taking a hard look at our immigration and drug problems and their causes, the United States through the Immigration Reform Act could spend another $50 billion dollars to militarize the border. All this spending on military equipment with no measurement of effectiveness. No system in place to see if any of that spending is actually making us safer.Watch our documentary Baja Smugglers below.
September 16, 2013
Fish Camp Pictures from Baja Smugglers
Photo by Derren Ohanian / http://www.dnaimagery.com/
Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook page. Follow me to see more!
September 9, 2013
Travel/Surf Pictures from Baja Smugglers
Photo by Derren Ohanian / http://www.dnaimagery.com/
Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook page. Follow me to see more!
August 30, 2013
The Bronco made it into the New York Times!
Yes, the Bronco made it into the New York Times. What a day. I love this review that Ben Preston did of our documentary and adventure. "The ride" was so important while filming Baja Smugglers. It seems fitting that he'd tell the story of the trip through the lens of the Bronco. And sweet Jesus, what a title!
Click here for the link.
August 27, 2013
Night Pictures from Baja Smugglers
Watch the Baja Smugglers here:
Photo by Derren Ohanian / http://www.dnaimagery.com/
Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook page. Follow me to see more!
August 23, 2013
Desert Pictures from Baja Smugglers
This was a fun day. Monkeying around in the Baja desert. Not a drop of fresh water anywhere!
Photo by Derren Ohanian / http://www.dnaimagery.com/
Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook page. Follow me to see more!
Photo by Derren Ohanian / http://www.dnaimagery.com/
Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook page. Follow me to see more!
August 12, 2013
Baja Smugglers on KEYT Santa Barbara
Baja Smugglers was on the news last night. Check it out:
August 6, 2013
Baja Smugglers: Transporting News to the 18-34 Demographic on YouTube
Young people don't watch the news. The common understanding is that young people like reality TV, mindless television dramas, and are more addicted to those YouTube "cat chases the ball" videos than the actual cat.
But I think that network executives and media moguls simply haven't found the right way to relate to the 18-34 demographic. And so I wonder, what would such programming look like? What would engage serious news, yet also be fun to sit down and watch?
The surge in drug smuggling from Baja, Mexico to the shores of California on panga boats is a hot news story, raising issues about immigration and drug reform. So I decided to make a travel/news documentary about this subject with my eye toward the 18-34 year-old audience.
Simply, this is my attempt as a filmmaker to relate immigration reform to a young demographic that is looking for a more experiential approach. So, how better than by driving down to Baja with a cameraman and a translator, making an adventure out of going to see what panga smuggling looks like in Baja.
For those not familiar with pangas, they are small, open-hulled fishing boats that have been crossing the U.S.-Mexican sea border, smuggling migrant workers or marijuana on all night trips into the United States. With over 205 panga crossings last year alone, Baja smugglers have captured the imagination of Californians, sparking interest from their daredevil tactics that result in a $4 million street value from one shipment of marijuana onto our beaches.
During our week in Mexico we interviewed a journalist and a scholar, we went to a panga smuggling seaport, and ventured into the desert where we talked with an actual smuggler. We were looking for an adventure, tied with issues of immigration reform, the increasingly militarized border, and the prospect that the U.S. government will commit a near $50 billion to secure our border.
As featured on The Huffington Post
But I think that network executives and media moguls simply haven't found the right way to relate to the 18-34 demographic. And so I wonder, what would such programming look like? What would engage serious news, yet also be fun to sit down and watch?
The surge in drug smuggling from Baja, Mexico to the shores of California on panga boats is a hot news story, raising issues about immigration and drug reform. So I decided to make a travel/news documentary about this subject with my eye toward the 18-34 year-old audience.
Simply, this is my attempt as a filmmaker to relate immigration reform to a young demographic that is looking for a more experiential approach. So, how better than by driving down to Baja with a cameraman and a translator, making an adventure out of going to see what panga smuggling looks like in Baja.
For those not familiar with pangas, they are small, open-hulled fishing boats that have been crossing the U.S.-Mexican sea border, smuggling migrant workers or marijuana on all night trips into the United States. With over 205 panga crossings last year alone, Baja smugglers have captured the imagination of Californians, sparking interest from their daredevil tactics that result in a $4 million street value from one shipment of marijuana onto our beaches.
During our week in Mexico we interviewed a journalist and a scholar, we went to a panga smuggling seaport, and ventured into the desert where we talked with an actual smuggler. We were looking for an adventure, tied with issues of immigration reform, the increasingly militarized border, and the prospect that the U.S. government will commit a near $50 billion to secure our border.
As featured on The Huffington Post
July 31, 2013
Now on Vimeo - Baja Smugglers
Yep. Baja Smugglers can now be seen in one long run on Vimeo. Personally, I like watching it like this more.
BAJA SMUGGLERS - Full Documentary from MrJesseAizenstat on Vimeo.
BAJA SMUGGLERS - Full Documentary from MrJesseAizenstat on Vimeo.
July 30, 2013
Creative nonsense on Instagram
My buddy Blake and I yesterday where kicking around the idea of how to get the word out about Baja Smugglers. We thought some funny pictures on Instagram would do the trick. So we took some. But not just any old pictures. We figured that it had to be something original. Something that made people want to "like it" while scrolling through a sea of other esthetically pleasing pixels. This is what we came up with: Me doing the doggie shake (or "the sour tequila," you choose), while burning a fake $20 bill. By the way, the fake $20 was from a Vegas strip club that our dear friend Johnny Travis was caught hanging out at.
Follow Blake - @poseawkwardly
Follow Blake - @poseawkwardly
