Border guardian: in telling the story of immigrants, a filmmaker finds divine inspiration.

"WRITE ABOUT WHAT YOU KNOW" IS ANY good English teacher's advice. So when John Carlos Frey decided to write a screenplay, it was only natural that the subject matter be the U.S.-Mexico border, a not-so-invisible line that lies less than 100 yards from the California home where he grew up. Daily he saw immigrants crossing that line, being chased by border patrol agents, hiding in his family's garage and yard. As a teenager he watched his mother, a native of Mexico and legal immigrant to the United States, get summarily deported over that line because she was walking in their neighborhood without identification.

"I was off running around when I noticed from a distance that the border patrol had stopped my mom," he says. When she told the agent that her home and her immigration papers were just up the street, he didn't buy it. "He put her in the back of a patrol car and she was deported. It was a case of racial profiling. Even though she had built a life here in the U.S. and was here legally, because of her ethnicity she was looked at as a criminal."

It was a turning point in the way Frey addressed his own ethnicity. Prior to that he had tried to hide and deny his heritage as the son of a Mexican woman and a Swiss dairy farmer. The Swiss part was fine; it was the Mexican part that was problematic. Born in Tijuana, Frey's family moved to the northern side of the border when he was 2, and he avoided telling anyone anything, like his middle name, Carlos, that would indicate he was not purely of European descent. That way he could fit in with the "American" kids at school.

Frey now uses both his first and middle names, a decision he made to honor his Mexican heritage. Especially in the entertainment industry, where Frey has had roles in live theatre, TV shows, and countless commercials, he feels it's important to emphasize his Latino heritage and has dedicated his career as a filmmaker to serving the Latino population. He says the roles for Latinos are few and far between and mainly portray stereotypical images of Latino culture.

Among the mostly wealthy population of southern San Diego County where Frey grew up, he says it's common to hear negative opinions about immigrants. But in his Catholic family, he and his three older sisters were raised to respect the migrants.

"My parents always told us these were not bad people, they were poor and desperate, and not to look down on them or to categorize them as 'others.'" At his home there was always access to water for border-crossers, as well as food and money when necessary.

In The Gatekeeper (MCA), which Frey wrote and directed in 2002, he stars as a self-hating border patrol agent of Mexican descent who becomes involved with a vigilante group. He eventually sees his fate echo that of the immigrants he's persecuting.

Reactions to the film, Frey says, have been overwhelmingly positive--including 10 national and international awards. But it's also garnered negative responses from those who say he portrays the immigrants in too favorable a light. Frey has even received a few death threats.

"When I started this film I knew that I was up against a lot of odds," he says. "I knew it might never see the light of day, that it might never reach an audience. So I decided early on that I was going to make this a 'God project.' If I ran into trouble, I would pray. If there were an obstacle, I would pray. If it looked as if it were all about to fall apart, I would pray and I would seek guidance and inspiration. As a result, I felt like now I had a deal with God, and I was being asked to become a bigger person, to become a better individual, to speak as much as I possibly could the words and the wisdom of God, if that was the task that was being asked of me."

Frey speaks about immigration issues on a regular basis now, usually with a screening of the film and a discussion afterward. At one screening, he says he was getting the usual sort of questions--Does this really happen? Are migrants really being treated this poorly?--when a woman stood up from the audience of about 300 people. In broken English, she identified herself as being in this country illegally. She said the film was an accurate portrayal of her life because the first day she came to America she was raped three times by U.S. border patrol agents and then released. "I'm sure that those 300 people will not think about the issue quite the same ever again," Frey says.

"There is something magical and powerful about a movie that I don't think any other form of art or creative endeavor has the ability to do," he says. "Hollywood has the ability and the power to transform, to enlighten, to push forward."

On his list of upcoming film projects are a true story of the first Mexican-American to go to college in Texas and the life story of Cesar Chavez.

"MAKING A MOVIE, ESPECIALLY ONE LIKE THE GATEKEEPER, has deepened my faith and made my spiritual path much more solid and firm," Frey says, "because for some reason I have been put in a position to speak about particular issues. And I have met many more of the migrants themselves. They wear their faith loudly and have taught me what it is to be a person of faith. They have taught me true spiritual values, the true meaning of worship, the true meaning of having a personal relationship with God, which I didn't have as deeply as I have today."

JOHN CARLOS FREY

WRITER, DIRECTOR

FAVORITE FOOD: Any kind of Mexican food. I love it all.

PETS: I have a dog named Butch who is approaching his 17th birthday. He is half blind, deaf, and has arthritis. He still wags his tail and greets me with a smile.

A WORD TO LIVE BY: Acceptance.

AN EXPERIENCE THAT CHANGED MY PERSPECTIVE: The death of my mother changed my life forever. I no longer concern myself with trivial problems but try to make each day count.

WORST ADVICE MY PARENTS EVER GAVE ME: They pleaded with me not to move to Hollywood and pursue a career in the movie business.