Filmmaker Reminds Us of the Struggles Queer Immigrants Face in New Doc

Moises Serrano describes the moment when, as a queer, undocumented American, he "hit rock bottom."

"In 2010, after I graduated high school, that was the year that changed everything," he tells Out. "The community college system had decided to deny all undocumented students. I was going through a severe depression. I felt like there wasn't a way out for me."

Serrano recounts his struggles in new film Forbidden: Undocumented and Queer in Rural America. The documentary premieres Tuesday during OutFest 2016 in Los Angeles.

The film follows Serrano from his earliest moments to his life as a queer, undocumented activity in North Carolina. His parents immigrated from Cancun when he was just a baby. Serrano hopes the film will remind queer viewers the struggle immigrants face in today's America.

During this election year, Serrano is looking to find justice and advocates for his community.

"I want to remind the viewers and the audience that Forbidden was filmed during a democratic administration, during the Obama administration who are seen and who are supposedly friends to the immigrant community," Serrano says. "But actually we've had rampant border enforcement during the Obama administration, a massive escalation of deportations of nonviolent criminal individuals--basically people who haven't had a criminal record."

Under the Obama administration, more than 2.5 million people have been deported.

"We have no allies. We must stand together and stand in solidarity as a community with each other instead of with a specific party," Serrano says.

Watch the trailer below.

Forbidden: trailer from Pony Pictures on Vimeo.