TOO LONG HERE

On August 18, 1971, First Lady Pat Nixon declared a stretch of land along the US-Mexico border a “Friendship Park,” willing two countries toward a common future. Decades later, this spirited inauguration hangs above the meeting place like a specter, charged by the border’s harsh realities. Vibrant digitized color film from the Richard Nixon Presidential Library along with stirring musical and oral performances from the inaugural event clash against the present, as TOO LONG HERE ponders the implications of an empty promise.

  • Emily Packer
    Director
    La Frontierra Chingada, Nationless, As Sweet
  • John Fanestil
    Producer
  • Pat Nixon
    Key Cast
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    AQUÍ DEMASIADO TIEMPO
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    6 minutes 39 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 7, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    300 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    Mexico, United States
  • Language:
    English, Spanish
  • Shooting Format:
    analog and digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Houston Cinema Arts Festival
    Houston
    United States
    World Premiere
Director Biography - Emily Packer

Emily Packer is an experimental non-fiction filmmaker with an interest in border culture and border theory. She was a fellow in the 2018-2019 Collaborative Studio at Union Docs in Brooklyn. Emily graduated from Hampshire College in December of 2015. The following year, she organized a three-day art event in San Diego and Tijuana, where she screened her second feature film, La Frontierra Chingada. In addition to her independent work, Emily is a freelance editor, producer, and a pre-screener for film festivals in New York City. Emily collects voicemails for future use; consider yourself notified.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

Friendship Park's 50th anniversary is right around the corner, meanwhile Trump's 30 foot wall is making its way to change the landscape dramatically. Looking back on the national intention for this beautiful place in juxtaposition with the petty politics and carceral state of the park today, it is difficult to imagine *increased* security here. The park is now mainly used for family reunification across the border, as it is the only sanctioned place that mixed-status families can gather without crossing national lines. It is imperative that we investigate the park's place in our international relations and statutory imagination.