Camilla Cantu performing a piece from “Lights Out”
Lights Out is a cinematic, documentary style music video that aims to highlight the issues faced by undocumented people-specifically when it comes to access to state IDs and licenses. The recorded footage uses universal imagery and metaphors such as kids playing in a gated playground, migrating birds, and monarch butterflies to allude to larger societal problems regarding the oppression of immigrants and undocumented people. The music video has three separate but united goals:
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To empower undocumended people to see themselves as catalysts for change that have the ability and power to stand up to political systems that make them invisible
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To spread awareness for the campaign in Michigan to get drivers licenses for undocumented people
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To provoke thoughts of questioning political systems that do not prioritize human rights’ issues, therefore not serving all people equally
The visual concepts for the video were born out of community dialogue, experience sharing and collective visual moodboarding; we held three two-hour workshops over the course of September and October where community members in Southwest Detroit were able to share their opinions on the topic of immigration and undocumentation. Participants in these workshops ranged from well-known community leaders to children who belong to the Avis neighborhood.
