Independent Lens
The Longoria Affair
In Texas after World War II, a funeral home refuses to care for a dead Mexican American soldier’s body “because the whites wouldn’t like it.”
American Exile
Brothers Valente and Manuel Valenzuela volunteered and fought in Vietnam. Now 50 years later, they are being deported but, they are not the only ones. Follow the brothers as they learn about exiled veterans and embark on a journey to bring them back home.
- Series
- Voces
- Premiere Date
- November 16, 2021
- Length
- 60 minutes
- Funding Initiative
- Diversity Development Fund
Writer, Director, Producer
John J Valadez
John Valadez is a producer and director of award-winning documentaries for PBS and CNN, whose credits include Passin' It On, The Last Conquistador, Making Peace, Matters of Race, and Visiones: Latino Arts & Culture. He is a founding member of the New York City chapter of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP).
- Other ITVS Films
- The Last Conquistador
- The Longoria Affair
Producer, Editor
Carleen Hsu
For over 25 years, Carleen produced non-fiction films for HBO, PBS, TLC, BBC, CBC, and Channel 4 UK. The documentaries have been recognized with two Peabody Awards, a Royal Television Society Award, a Grierson Award, a Foreign Press Association Award for Best Documentary, and a nomination for a national News & Documentary Emmy.
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The Film
Two brothers, Manuel and Valente Valenzuela, both volunteered and fought in Vietnam. They returned wounded and with distinguished records. Valente even earned the Bronze Star for combat heroism. Fifty years later they are among thousands of U.S. military veterans who are being deported. Now in their 70s, the brothers reluctantly don their uniforms for one last mission; to “leave no soldier behind” and bring deported veterans back home. Along the way they meet others whose lives have also been impacted; a gold star father, whose daughter was killed trying to save another soldier during the Iraq war, finds himself facing deportation; and an army vet, who is wheelchair bound because of a devastating military injury, faces exile as well.
At one point the state of Colorado tells Manuel Valenzuela he is a citizen and invites him to vote in a federal election (which he does), at the same time the Department of Homeland Security is trying to execute his deportation. If convicted by the federal government of illegal voting Manuel could spend eight years in prison.
It’s a quixotic tale of two soldiers who still believe in service and sacrifice for the greater good. Their journey ultimately leaves one brother exiled in a foreign land, while the other will go all the way to the White House.
