Press text, 45th Parallel

In his new film, 45th Parallel, Lawrence Abu Hamdan addresses the concept of borders as intrinsically defined by their binary attributes. They are historically, politically, and geographically charged places that only exist through the mutual – and unavoidable – existence of the two spaces they delimit. The work is filmed in the Haskell family’s 1904 library and opera house, a unique urban facility that straddles the border between Canada and the United States. Originally constructed for the education and cultural enrichment of frontier communities on the 45th parallel, the building is the only cross-border theater in the world where audiences and actors are in different countries during performances. The actor’s poetic monologue unfolds into a four-act forensic plea about the Hernández vs. Mesa trial, which involves the shooting and killing of an unarmed fifteen-year-old Mexican boy in 2010 by a U.S. border guard.