BROWNSVILLE, Texas - Borderline, a thriller mostly filmed in Brownsville, is now streaming on several movie channels.
The flick was shown Friday, Aug. 7, at the Brownsville Performing Arts Academy to a select audience that gave their thumbs up as the local cast stood by.
In the movie, soldiers of fortune, or ex militaries, go into Matamoros, Mexico, to abduct several members of a gang which are taken back to the United States where they appear in different cities either confused or drugged-up.
One of the abductees, however, is the wrong person and goes back home.
Filmed nearly 80 percent in Brownsville, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore, some of the gang members killed several people and are portrayed as the undocumented criminal immigrants that some media outlets keep reporting on.
Ryan Jordan, the film director, said they have received great reviews since the movie debuted in July in selected theaters around the country.
It wasn’t shown in Texas because of a decision by the distributors though it’s now streaming on Apple TV and Amazon.
“The movie sheds a light on the many things told to drive a narrative,” Jordan said. “It really shows how people can manipulate things to turn people against each other.”
Completely unfamiliar with the US-Mexican border, Jordan she had never heard of Brownsville and did some research on the region.
But once here, she said she discovered a new world where people, elected officials and businesses, went out of their way to support them.
Rita Hernandez, an associate producer, said making the film will result in a price tag of about $1 million.
“We spent some $250,000 in two and a half weeks here,” she said. ”That included buying food, hotels, hiring people and so on.”
But that is not all, she said.
“This is only the beginning,” Hernandez said. “We are planning to film a second movie.”
She said much of the funding for Borderline came from a private source but they will need more financial backing for the next projects they have in mind.
The movie cast and producers were introduced Thursday, Aug. 6 at the CMD/CVB Complex by the Brownsville Border Film Commission.
The cast and crew also had a scheduled a meet-and-greet Saturday night at the Broken Sprocket.
