In this stirring documentary, director Maxim Pozdorovkin (Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer, 2013; The Notorious Mr. Bout, 2014) tells the story of Puentes de Salud, a volunteer-run clinic that provides free medical care to undocumented immigrants in South Philadelphia. Clínica de Migrantes follows the workers and patients of Puentes through months of routine care and growth. Along the way, the film puts a face to the millions of people who exist on the margins of society: people displaced from their homelands, separated from their families, unfamiliar with the customs, unable to obtain health insurance and terrified to come forward to seek medical help. Along with revealing these patients’ stories, Clínica de Migrantes shines a light on the heroic doctors and nurses who work pro bono to ensure these people receive care, offering a deeply moving look at the limitless potential of humanity.
Puentes de Salud is founded on the principles of social determinants of health and social justice. The founders and volunteers of the clinic believe that community health, wellness, and empowerment result from a collaborative, multidisciplinary effort to address the conditions in which we grow, learn, live, work, and age. These conditions influence an individual’s quality of life and the development of the community as a whole. Puentes de Salud aims to improve community and individual health and wellness not only by providing immediate services, but also by acknowledging and challenging embedded social inequalities and injustices. Puentes de Salud works in partnership with community members, local public schools, universities, governmental institutions, and other nonprofit organizations to address the adverse structural, economic, and social conditions that face our vibrant yet vulnerable, economically disadvantaged community.
The film will be shown Friday, April 20th at 7pm in the Student Union Movie Theatre. Admission is free. Seating is first come, first served. We encourage all students to mark their calendars to attend!