Utah filmmaker tackling thorny immigration issue through new movie, 'Brotherhood'

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Utah filmmaker Ross Boothe is tackling the complicated immigration issue through a new musical drama, "Brotherhood."
• The film, shot in Utah, explores the issue through the story of a Mexican immigrant, his American neighbor and their families and friends.
• It's tentatively scheduled for release this fall in both the United States and Mexico.

COTTONWOOD HEIGHTS — Ross Boothe has grown increasingly dismayed at the tone of the unfolding immigration debate, particularly the vitriol he sees directed at Latino immigrants and the stereotyping of the community.

"It seems that they are portrayed as all criminals, as people who are sucking on our resources, taking, taking and giving nothing back," he said. In his "personal lived experience," though, he finds the population "to be exceptionally hard working, honest, family-oriented, values-driven, focused on faith in God."

Ultimately, the Utah filmmaker, music producer and stage director heard enough. He decided he needed to wade into the thorny topic, launching production of a dramatic musical, "Brotherhood," that delves into the issue via the story of two neighbors, a Mexican immigrant and his American neighbor, and their families and friends. The aim, as Boothe describes it, is to paint a more complex, human picture of immigrants centered on the teachings of the Bible.

"We need to start from a position of loving our neighbor," said Boothe, who served a mission in heavily Hispanic South Texas and has pursued projects around Latin America. "In a community that is so faith-based as Utah generally is, we especially have a need to look at those on either side of us and say, 'Who are you?' and 'What makes you valuable?' and to love our neighbor as ourselves."

With a relatively modest budget of some $2 million — "very much an indie film," said Daren Smith, the movie's producer — filming took place through April and May at various locations in Utah, featuring Utah-based performers. Now, the filmmaking team is engaged in post-production, editing the film with a planned release this coming fall.

"So we had some cold nights the last few weeks here in April, May of 2026 in Utah. But it's worked out for us really nicely," Smith said last month on one of the last days of filming, a scene at St. Thomas More Catholic Church in Cottonwood Heights.

Smith, an independent producer who runs Craftsman Films, echoed the sentiments of Boothe. Smith and Boothe met as students at Brigham Young University, parted ways and crossed paths last year, a chance meeting that ultimately led to them teaming up on the movie.

"It's a beautiful story built up around love and being a good neighbor, not about politicalization, not about divisiveness or sides or right and wrong," Smith said.

'We can change hearts'

The story is pulled from the headlines and the crackdown on illegal immigration pursued by the administration of President Donald Trump, though neither Boothe nor Smith directly referenced the president. It delves into some of the raw attitudes that have come to characterize the debate, notably toward Latinos and the immigrant community.

"'Brotherhood' tells the story of two neighbors — one a Mexican immigrant, the other a lifelong U.S. citizen—who discover what it really means to love thy neighbor in a divided America," reads a synopsis on the Craftsman Films website. Mauricio Martinez and Casey Elliott play the lead roles — Fabián, the Mexican immigrant, and Jon, the U.S. citizen neighbor — and the story has been informed and vetted by consultants, advisers and others from within the immigrant community.

In discussing the film, Boothe stresses the contributions of immigrants to the United States, what he views as their key role in keeping the country afloat, and the importance of regarding them through a faith-based lens. "The project is an effort to help us see them in a different light and to see how our expressions of faith in God have to get into alignment with the way we see those who we live with in our communities," he said.

Charlotte Hemmings, an actress who plays Cami in the movie, the wife of Jon, put the message of the film in blunter terms. She describes Jon, the character, as needing "some personal growth."

"The message I hope comes from this movie is that we're all humans and no one is illegal and everyone deserves a basic level of decency and compassion and humanity," she said.

Smith doesn't expect the movie to foment change in U.S. immigration policy, though he hopes it has an impact. "We can't do that with a story. But we can change hearts and we can change minds," he said.

"Brotherhood" features 17 songs written by Boothe, the main force behind the movie, and it was filmed at varied locations around the Salt Lake City area. Smith said Oct. 2 is the tentative U.S. release date, with planned showings at theaters in both Mexico and the United States.

The Key Takeaways for this article were generated with the assistance of large language models and reviewed by our editorial team. The article, itself, is solely human-written.

Related topics

ImmigrationEntertainmentUtahPoliticsVoces de Utah

Tim Vandenack

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Tim Vandenack covers immigration, multicultural issues and Northern Utah for KSL. He worked several years for the Standard-Examiner in Ogden and has lived and reported in Mexico, Chile and along the U.S.-Mexico border.