HOLLYWOOD — The Oscar-nominated film “A Lien,” up for best live action short film, delves into the U.S. immigration process.
The brothers behind it came up with the title by separating the word “alien,” illustrating that when the members of a family get separated, there’s “a lien” on their possessions and on their loved ones.
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In “A Lien,” a family arrives for a scheduled green card interview, understandably nervous yet hopeful. Unexpectedly, ICE agents appear, wanting to take the guy away from his family. The 14-minute movie was actually shot during the pandemic but due to recent immigration orders signed by President Donald Trump, it is perhaps more timely than ever.
“It’s exciting and challenging and heartbreaking, but also satisfying that the film is sort of meeting its moment,” said Sam Cutler-Kreutz. “And I think it’s really exciting that we can be part of a small part of the large conversation that’s been happening in our country about immigration and how we kind of want it to go about.”
The filmmaking brothers behind “A Lien” hope it strikes a chord when you watch it.
“Making sure that you walked away saying this is actually happening here in the United States today felt like a really important part to, you know, to really sink in this film and to make it actually matter and not just be, you know, some fictionalized stress-inducing, you know, piece of art,” said David Cutler-Kreutz.
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The filmmakers know they are putting their audience through a lot of emotions.
“I think it’s intentional,” Sam said. “And, you know, I think it’s our hope that the film can, you know, really put you in the shoes of somebody going through this process.”
The brothers are now going through the process of Oscar season and daring to dream.
“Sam and I love stories and we have just piles of stories that we want to tell,” said David. “And so, you know, we keep digging from, we’ve been digging from the short film pile but we, you know, we have so many longer pieces that we’re so excited to tell.”
Sam added, “I think our next project will be our first feature. That’s what’s going to happen for us next, I think. And it’s very exciting. The script is done and we’re just kind of figuring out the last few pieces of it.”
If you’d like to watch “A Lien,” it’s available for free on Vimeo at vimeo.com.
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