Documentary on Edith Espinal to show at Cinema Columbus Film Festival Saturday

Danae King, The Columbus Dispatch
·3 min read
Edith Espinal smiles while talking to the media on June 15, 2021 after her meeting with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in Westerville for the first time since she was granted a reprieve by the agency in February. Espinal remained in sanctuary inside Columbus Mennonite Church for more than three years to avoid deportation.
Edith Espinal smiles while talking to the media on June 15, 2021 after her meeting with Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in Westerville for the first time since she was granted a reprieve by the agency in February. Espinal remained in sanctuary inside Columbus Mennonite Church for more than three years to avoid deportation.

The Cinema Columbus Film Festival will be showing a documentary by two local filmmakers who have taken viewers inside the life of Edith Espinal, an undocumented Columbus immigrant who spent three years inside an area church in hopes of avoiding deportation and keeping her family together.

Elisa Stone Leahy and Matthew Leahy, of Noonday Films, began filming Espinal’s experience living in sanctuary in a converted Sunday-school classroom on the second floor of Columbus Mennonite Church in October 2017, when she entered.

More on 'A Shelter for Edith': Columbus couple creates documentary on Edith Espinal's time in sanctuary

During the COVID-19 pandemic, which began in March 2020, the couple began editing their footage together and produced a 25-minute film, “A Shelter for Edith.”

The couple didn’t set out to make a documentary, but to document Espinal’s experience, as they have ties to the sanctuary movement and local immigration activism.

It was screened for the first time virtually at the New York Latino Film Festival in September 2021, but will now be shown locally as part of the Cinema Columbus Film Festival on April 29 at 7 p.m. at the Drexel Theatre.

The poster for the documentary "A Shelter for Edith," releasing Sept. 18, 2021. The film details Edith Espinal's time seeking immigration sanctuary inside Columbus Mennonite Church.
The poster for the documentary "A Shelter for Edith," releasing Sept. 18, 2021. The film details Edith Espinal's time seeking immigration sanctuary inside Columbus Mennonite Church.

The film is one of six documentary shorts being shown, and Stone Leahy and Leahy will be part of a Q&A with directors following the screenings. Tickets can be purchased for $10 at cinemacolumbus.com.

Who is Edith Espinal?

Espinal, originally from Mexico, lived in sanctuary inside the Clintonville church for more than three years, from October 2017 to February 2021.

She eventually left the church after the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) policy guidelines under President Joe Biden changed to prioritize deportation of undocumented immigrants who had committed crimes while in the country.

February 2021: Edith Espinal allowed to leave church sanctuary, must check in with ICE periodically

The documentary focuses on the juxtaposition that struck the filmmakers, of the nation going into lockdown due to COVID-19 in March 2020, when Espinal had already been isolated for years.

Espinal, who had been living in Columbus for more than 20 years, was one of dozens of undocumented immigrants who sought sanctuary inside of churches across the United States during Donald Trump’s presidency, which included increased immigration enforcement and deportations. She sought sanctuary to stay in Columbus with her three adult children and her husband, instead of being sent to Mexico and separated from them.

Why did immigrants seek sanctuary in churches?

Churches opened their doors because of an ICE policy that states they likely won’t go into "sensitive locations" to carry out enforcement actions.

Return from sanctuary: Edith Espinal's West Side home now 'full of life' after her return from three years in church sanctuary

The policy states that enforcement actions should be avoided or have prior approval from a supervisor at schools and places of worship, unless there are certain circumstances.

There were many ups and downs for Espinal during her time at the church, including being levied a federal fine of almost $500,000.

What's next for the film and Espinal's story?

Elisa Stone Leahy and Matthew Leahy are two local documentary filmmakers who filmed Edith Espinal, an undocumented immigrant who avoided deportation by living in sanctuary inside Columbus Mennonite Church from when she entered in October 2017. They created a short documentary about her that premiered in 2021 and is now showing Saturday, April 29 as part of the Cinema Columbus Film Festival at the Drexel Theatre.

“A Shelter for Edith” is intended to shed light on her solitary life and the threat that sent her indoors, “the fear that the U.S. immigration system could tear her family apart,” according to Noonday Films.

“I first met Edith when she took sanctuary in our church in 2017. She has since become a close friend,” Stone Leahy, the director of the film, said in a statement. “As part of her advocacy team I have had the honor of learning from her steadfast commitment to justice, her passion for change and her unending strength in the face of a powerful and unjust system.”

Stone Leahy also wrote a middle-grade, coming-of-age book inspired by Espinal, called “Tethered to Other Stars." It is set in a fictional Columbus neighborhood and includes themes of sanctuary, allyship, the immigrant experience and finding a path in an unjust world, according to Stone Leahy. It will be released on Oct. 3.

dking@dispatch.com

@DanaeKing

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Documentary on Columbus woman's life in sanctuary to screen Saturday