Independent Lens

East Of Salinas

East of Salinas is a story about immigration, childhood, and circumstance. With little support at home, Salinas, California third grader Jose Ansaldo often turns to his teacher, Oscar Ramos, once a migrant farm kid himself. Oscar helps Jose imagine a future beyond the lettuce fields where his parents work. But Jose was born in Mexico - and he's on the cusp of understanding the implications of that. As we watch this play out, we begin to understand the cruelty of circumstance - for Jose and many millions of migrant kids like him. East of Salinas asks: What is lost when kids like Jose are denied opportunities?