Dead When I Got Here – Asylum from the Madness
The story of a man reunited with his family after they discover him in a mental asylum run by its own patients in Juárez, Mexico.
THE STORY
Josué Rosales is recovering from 30 years of self-destruction. From being an illegal Mexican in the US; locked up in San Quentin with Charles Manson for murder; deported back to the streets of Juárez and finally arriving nearly dead in a mental asylum run by its own patients in the desert.
Assisted by patients employing empathy as the only means of survival, Josué transcended certain death by discovering compassion in his darkest hours. Six years later, Josué manages the asylum. Now it’s his job to give drugs to the sick; to help them walk; to assist in recovering from the same trauma he experienced while living on the streets of the world’s most violent city.
But for Josué something isn’t complete: he shares a dream with someone he lost a long time ago.
Having been told her father was dead, Vanessa never gave up searching.
Trawling over the Internet in LA, she encounters Josué in a publicity trailer for this film. She hasn’t seen her father in 22 years.
The film maker arranges their meeting in Tijuana. The reunion offers Josué a chance to redeem his shattered past. His daughter can begin to forgive him. They can pick up the pieces and start again.
THE PRODUCTION
In 2011 I visited the Vision & Action mental asylum in Mexico run by its own patients. I’d been told that filming anywhere along the US/Mexican border was dangerous – especially in Juárez, murder capital of the world. The asylum is out in the desert, on the curdled fringe of that city and I figured it would be safer to film there than on the streets.
The asylum was founded 18 years ago by Pastor Galvan and he gave me his trust and complete access to the place. The people I met and filmed are all recovering from the trauma of living in Juárez where 8 people are murdered each day with impunity. These people manage the asylum with empathy and very little else. Not to be pitied – they set an example we can only hope to understand and emulate. We are to be humbled by their determination to survive.
I visited the asylum on two more occasions in 2012. I settled on Josué being the main character in the film because he was so reflective on his troubled past. In July 2012 his daughter emailed me. She lives in LA and had been told her father was dead. She wanted to know what he was doing in my publicity trailer on YouTube. She hadn’t seen him in 22 years. Suddenly the film had become a catalyst for reuniting a shattered family. In December 2012 I organized and filmed their reunion. I’m not sure about films changing the world but this family now has a brighter future.
This heartwarming story set in the harshest of places gives us hope that the world can be a better place. These people at the asylum have created their own promised land. I’m privileged to be able to give you a film that reflects their courage and compassion.
Mark Aitken (Producer/Director)
http://deadwhenigothere.org/
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/deadwhenigothere/dead-when-i-got-here
https://www.facebook.com/deadwhenigothere
https://twitter.com/markaitkentweet
