SHADOWS OF THE VALLEY
Synopsis
When cartel wars erupt in the Valley of Juárez, and a migrant crisis leaves hundreds of children without their parents, a missionary risks his life to rescue orphans hiding in the shadows of the Valley of Death.
Credits
Josh Webb – Director
Josh Webb, AJ Gonzalez – Writer
Josh Webb – Producer
Steve Brewer – Key Cast
AJ Gonzalez – Cinematographer
Leslie Johnson – Score
Director Statement
I chose to make this film because I knew I had to do something.
Cartel wars left 200,000 people dead. New immigration policy put thousands more at risk, and all of this was 15 minutes from where I used to live. I didn’t know how to help. Then I found Steve Brewer and the House of Gems.
Right in the middle of Mexico’s Valley of Death, he was building a mansion for orphan children. Kids that had seen the worst were about to find a glimmer of hope – a place that 400 of them would be able to call “home.”
Then Steve found himself on a cartel hit list. Everyone on the list was killed. The violence scared off volunteer supporters. American churches grew apathetic. And empty government promises left him angry, yet not without resolve. To this day, he’s the only one from that hit list still alive. So he keeps building in hopes that one day soon, the children will get to come home.
Five years in the making, this is the story of the Shadows of the Valley.
Ratings
Director Biography
I grew up on the border. I believe there’s beauty in diversity and that we are better together, not apart. I believe stories are the language of our humanity, and every story deserves to be heard.
I’m a first-time filmmaker. Maybe an only-time filmmaker. But if I only get to make one, this is the one I’d make.
