Fleeing gang violence, a young boy from Honduras is arrested crossing the US border and sent to an immigrant detention facility. Trapped inside the “Icebox” and faced with a rigid immigration process, he struggles to gain control of his fate.
Acting
Anthony Gonzalez carries trauma like a backpack too heavy for him.
Direction
Sawka shot this in a real decommissioned detention center.
Production
The fluorescent hellscape feels stolen from a nightmare.
Director
Daniel Sawka
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
This was originally a thesis film at AFI—Sawka expanded it from his own short after researching real detention facilities.
Released during peak family separation policy coverage, it was deliberately screened at Congress to pressure lawmakers. They mostly ignored it.
US
