The U.S. border isn’t just a geographic line – it’s a multibillion-dollar system of surveillance, incarceration, and deportation that shapes millions of lives. Borderland: The Line Within, the latest documentary from award-winning filmmakers Paco de Onís and Pamela Yates, exposes the hidden machinery of the border industrial complex and the powerful resistance movements rising in its shadow.

Join us at The Conduit for a screening of Borderland: The Line Within, followed by a brief discussion with filmmakers Paco de Onís and Pamela Yates and deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Europe and Central Asia division Benjamin Ward. They will explore the urgent realities of U.S. immigration policy, the powerful interests driving border enforcement, and the resilience of those fighting for dignity, justice, and human rights.

Event Schedule

6:00pm: Pre-event socialising and networking

A cash bar will be available for refreshments.

6:15pm: Screening begins

8:05pm: Post-screening talk back with Paco de Onis and Pamela Yates

8:30pm: Event ends

Speakers:

Paco de Onís and Pamela Yates are the producer and director of Borderland. Paco serves as the Executive Director, and Pamela is the co-founder of Skylight, a human rights media organization dedicated to strengthening social justice movements through cinematic storytelling and fostering collaborative networks of artists and activists.

Their latest film, Borderland, brings the saga of Skylight’s acclaimed Guatemala trilogy—When the Mountains Tremble (1983), Granito (2011), and 500 Years (2017)—full circle, tracing the impact of U.S. foreign policy that supported brutal regimes and contributed to the root causes of migration. Their work sheds light on the ongoing crisis of mass migration from Central America, offering a compelling exploration of history, justice, and human resilience.

Benjamin Ward is a deputy director in Human Rights Watch’s Europe and Central Asia division. Ward has also served for Human Rights Watch as UK director, acting senior legal adviser and researcher on Bosnia, Croatia, and Kosovo, among other roles. Before joining the organization in 1997, Ward worked for the United Nations in Somalia and New York, and in Bosnia for the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. He was admitted to practice as a barrister in England & Wales in 2003, and holds a bachelor’s in government from the London School of Economics and a master’s in international affairs from the Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs.

Paul van Zyl is the co-founder and CEO of The Conduit. Paul is a winner of the prestigious Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship and was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum. He served as the Executive Secretary of South Africa’s post-apartheid Truth and Reconciliation Commission and co-founded the International Centre for Transitional Justice (ICTJ), an international human rights organisation based in New York City.

Please note that this event will be recorded and photographed. By attending this event, you consent to being photographed, filmed and recorded (“Recordings”). You further consent to The Conduit, and its assigns’ use of your name and your appearance and voice as captured by these Recordings, in any and all media, worldwide, for any purpose in connection with this event, including promotion of this event.