Tucson, Ariz.– Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva will introduce the producers of “Two Americans,” a documentary about Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio and then-nine-year-old Katherine Figueroa, at this evening’s opening of the twenty-first annual Arizona International Film Festival at the Grand Cinemas Crossroads at 4811 E. Grant Rd. The event includes a 6:00 p.m. reception and a 7:00 p.m. screening.

Arpaio had Figueroa’s parents arrested at the car wash where they worked, prompting her online appeal to President Obama for assistance. Figueroa testified at a hearing Grijalva held with other Members of Congress on the impacts of Arizona’s SB 1070 and other overreaching “crackdown” measures in June of 2010. (Part 1, Part 2.)

About the Producers

Dan DeVivo’s previous film, “Crossing Arizona,” was an official selection at the Sundance Film Festival and winner of the CINE Masters Series Award. Valeria Fernandez, a longtime immigration reporter, produced in-depth features about the plight of unaccompanied minors mistakenly charged as adults for crossing the U.S. border as a senior reporter for La Voz. The National Association of Hispanic Publications named Fernández “Latina Journalist of the Year” in 2004.

If You Go

When: 6:00 p.m. reception, 7:00 p.m. screening

Where: Grand Cinemas Crossroads, 4811 E. Grant Rd.