AT THE READY
Maisie Crow profiles Latinx teens in El Paso as they contemplate careers in border patrol and law enforcement against the backdrop of increasing xenophobia.
Festival Section:
US Documentary Competition
Sundance Program Description:
Ten miles from the Mexican border, students at Horizon High School in El Paso, Texas, are enrolling in law enforcement classes and joining a unique after-school activity: the criminal justice club. Through mock-ups of drug raids and active-shooter takedowns, they inch closer to their desired careers in border patrol, policing, and customs enforcement. We follow Mexican American students Kassy and Cesar and recent graduate Cristina as they navigate the complications inherent in their chosen path and discover their choices may clash with the values and people they hold closest.
Through intimate access and a clear-sighted lens, director Maisie Crow takes us inside one of the largest policing education programs in the region, offering a rare portrait of Latinx adolescents grappling with their place within their communities. Unafraid of confronting the difficult questions that lurk at the intersection of identity, immigration, and personal politics, AT THE READY asks: What is the price of pursuing dreams that have very real ramifications?
Some Background:
Director/Producer:
Maisie Crow
First Sundance credit. This is Crow’s sophomore doc feature, following JACKSON (Los Angeles Film Festival), for which she received a News & Documentary Emmy.
Producers:
Hillary Pierce
First Sundance credit. Pierce is also a News & Documentary Emmy winner, as coordinating producer for the doc feature TOWER (SXSW).
Abbie Perrault
First Sundance credit. Perrault previously worked with Maisie Crow as an impact producer on JACKSON, and is a journalist based in Marfa TX.
Executive Producers:
Tony Hsieh
Co-founder, Zappos. Hsieh also has executive producer credits on fellow 2021 US Documentary Competition titles AILEY, HOMEROOM, REBEL HEARTS, TRY HARDER!, and USERS, as well as Premieres title BRING YOUR OWN BRIGADE. The Internet entrepreneur and venture capitalist, who passed away in late November, was a backer of Bryn Mooser’s XTR.
Roberto Grande
Grande also executive produced AILEY, HOMEROOM, REBEL HEARTS, TRY HARDER!, and USERS. The investor and entrepreneur managed Tony Hsieh’s partnership with XTR.
Mimi Pham
Pham also executive produced AILEY, HOMEROOM, REBEL HEARTS, TRY HARDER!, and USERS. She recently co-executive produced 76 DAYS (Toronto, DOC NYC).
Bryn Mooser
Past Sundance docs:
BLOODY NOSE, EMPTY POCKETS (2020)
FEELS GOOD MAN (2020)
THE FIGHT (2020)
MUCHO MUCHO AMOR (2020)
US KIDS (2020)
THE BRINK (2019)
THE DISAPPEARANCE OF MY MOTHER (2019)
ON HER SHOULDERS (2018)
Founder/CEO, XTR. Mooser also executive produced AILEY, REBEL HEARTS, TRY HARDER!, USERS, BRING YOUR OWN BRIGADE, and the 2021 Next fiction title THE BLAZING WORLD, as well as co-executive produced HOMEROOM. The Oscar nominee and Emmy winner previously co-founded RYOT.
Justin Lacob
Past Sundance docs:
BLOODY NOSE, EMPTY POCKETS
FEELS GOOD MAN
Head of development, XTR. Lacob is also a co-executive producer for REBEL HEARTS. He joined XTR following executive roles at Spike TV/the Paramount Network.
Fred Grinstein
First Sundance credit. Head of non-fiction programming. Anonymous Content. Grinstein previously worked at A&E, Vice, Pulse Films, and Tiger Aspect.
Steve Golin
Founder/CEO, Anonymous Content. The late Golin was a Sundance alumni as a producer or executive producer of numerous fiction projects, most recently the episodic pilot When the Street Lights Go On and the feature Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far On Foot.
Max Kabat
First Sundance credit. Publisher/owner, The Sentinel. In addition to overseeing the Texas newspaper, Kabat is also a brand consultant and Maisie Crow’s husband.
Kathryn Everett
Past Sundance docs:
BLOODY NOSE, EMPTY POCKETS
FEELS GOOD MAN
THE FIGHT
MUCHO MUCHO AMOR
Head of film, XTR. Everett is also an executive producer of AILEY, REBEL HEARTS, TRY HARDER!, and USERS, BRING YOUR OWN BRIGADE, and co-executive producer of HOMEROOM.
Davis Guggenheim
Recent past Sundance docs:
BLOODY NOSE, EMPTY POCKETS
A THOUSAND CUTS (2020)
BOYS STATE (2020)
TIME (2020)
WHERE’S MY ROY COHN? (2019)
BISBEE ’17 (2018)
THE PRICE OF FREE (FKA KAILASH, 2018)
Chief creative officer, Concordia Studio. The Oscar-winning Guggenheim is also an executive producer of fellow 2021 US Documentary Competition titles SUMMER OF SOUL (…OR, WHEN THE REVOLUTION COULD NOT BE TELEVISED) and HOMEROOM.
Jonathan Silberberg
Past Sundance docs:
BLOODY NOSE, EMPTY POCKETS
A THOUSAND CUTS
BOYS STATE
TIME
WHERE’S MY ROY COHN?
BISBEE ’17
THE PRICE OF FREE
President, Concordia Studio. The Emmy-nominated Silberberg was previously a longtime producer at RadicalMedia, and also executive produced HOMEROOM and co-executive produced SUMMER OF SOUL.
Nicole Stott
Recent past Sundance docs:
BLOODY NOSE, EMPTY POCKETS
A THOUSAND CUTS
BOYS STATE
TIME
WHERE’S MY ROY COHN?
BISBEE ’17
WESTWOOD: PUNK, ICON, ACTIVIST (2018)
EVP, nonfiction films & series, Concordia Studio. Stott, previously the longtime head of documentary at Passion Pictures, also executive produced HOMEROOM and co-executive produced SUMMER OF SOUL.
Coordinating Producer:
Braulio Beltran
First Sundance credit. Beltran has a background as a sound designer.
what (not) to doc 