Too Long Here

First Lady Pat Nixon inaugurates “Friendship Park” where the US-Mexico border meets the sea, but decades later will her promise of a shared space hold up?

On August 18, 1971, First Lady Pat Nixon declared a stretch of land along the US-Mexico border a “Friendship Park,” willing two countries toward a common future. Decades later, this spirited inauguration hangs above the meeting place like a specter, charged by the border’s harsh realities. Vibrant digitized color film from the Richard Nixon Presidential Library along with stirring musical and oral performances from the inaugural event clash against the present, as TOO LONG HERE ponders the implications of an empty promise.

Director

Emily Packer

Created by

John Fanestil