The Short LIfe of José Antonio Gutierrez

* World Premiere, Sundance Film Festival, 2006 (competition)
* Official Selection, Locarno International Film Festival, 2006
* Official Selection, Munich International Film Festival, 2006
* Official Selection, Latino International Film Festival, 2006
* Official Selection, San Francisco International Film Festival, 2006
* Official Selection, Los Angeles International Film Festival, 2006
* Official Selection, Havana International Film Festival, 2006

“A well-researched, graceful film.” - Lisa Schwarzbaum, ENTERTAIMENT WEEKLY

“"An unforgettable tale of hope and tenacity… honors Gutierrez's life not simply by tracing its hard-scrabble path, but by expanding its scope to represent all green-card warriors and their essential threads in America's fabric" - Jeff Shannon, SEATTLE TIMES

“An artful film… a sad, illuminating story.” – David Ansen, NEWSWEEK

“A superb miniature of globalization.” - Patricia Aufderheide, IN THESE TIMES

“Profound… one of those docs that takes the life of an individual and surrounds it with other people’s stories that are just as absorbing.” – Michael Ferraro, FILM THREAT

“One of my favorite documentaries of the year is so timely that I'm saddened to learn that it still hasn't been widely distributed in the States since I saw it in January, even though it seems to fill a void in the public debate.” – Rob Davis, ERRATA

“Sensitively and methodically tells the story of the first U.S. soldier killed in the 2003 Iraq invasion… distinguished by Specogna's intelligent and politically aware narration.” – Robert Koehler, VARIETY

“Several people have told me that they think The Short Life of José Antonio Gutierrez is the best film of the festival. It's surely one of the best.” – GREEN CINE PARK CITY DISPATCH (Sundance report)

José Antonio Gutierrez was one of the 300,000 soldiers sent by US Army to war in Iraq. A few hours after the war began, his picture was broadcast all over the world: he was the first American soldier to be killed in the war. He was there as a so-called 'green-card soldier' — one of approximately 32,000, fighting in the ranks of the US Army from a foreign country.

The film tells the moving and nearly unbelievable story of a one-time street kid from Guatemala, who headed north along the Pan-American Highway — full of hopes and desires for a better future — ultimately to die an American hero far from home. Searching for the images and stories that made up this life, we set out to retrace José Antonio’s path — from Guatemala through Mexico and into the USA. This story is told by the people who knew José Antonio: his friends from the street, the social workers at the orphanage, his sister, his foster family, his comrades at Camp Pendleton in the United States Marines.

But the narrators of the film are also the people we encountered as we were repeating José Antonio’s odyssey from the world of the poor to the world of the rich. People who day after day join the endless stream of emigrants — with no identity, no papers — equipped with nothing but their ability to work and their willingness to turn their backs on home and family forever. José Antonio’s story is no adventurer’s tale. It is the story of an attempt to survive — on both sides of the world.Screened to wide acclaim at Sundance 2006.