Producer and director Isaac Artenstein, founder of CineWest Productions, will appear with the world premiere of his new documentary, The People of the Crossing: The Jews of El Paso, at this year’s Plaza Classic Film Festival. The California-based director and writer directed Ballad of an Unsung Hero, which aired nationally on PBS and served as the basis for his feature film Break of Dawn. He also directed Tijuana Jews, Border Brujo, and Growing Up Weston, produced the comedies A Day Without a Mexican and Love Always, and directed Challah Rising in the Desert: The Jews of New Mexico, To the Ends of the Earth: A Portrait of Jewish San Diego, and A Long journey: The Hidden Jews of The Southwest.
They are part of his Jews of the Borderlands series that includes The People of the Crossing: The Jews of El Paso, which will air this October on PBS stations. He’s currently producing Border Noir featuring the work of crime fiction writers along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Isaac Artenstein will appear with The People of the Crossing: The Jews of El Paso (2023) at 1 pm Sunday, July 23, at the Plaza Theatre.
