With unprecedented access, “Cartel Land” is a riveting, on-the-ground look at the journeys of two modern-day vigilante groups and their shared enemy – the Mexican drug cartels.
In the Mexican state of Michoacán, Dr. Jose Mireles, a small-town physician known as "El Doctor," leads the Autodefensas, a citizen uprising against the Knights Templar drug cartel that has wreaked havoc on the region for years. Meanwhile, in Arizona's Altar Valley — a narrow, 52-mile-long desert corridor known as Cocaine Alley — Tim "Nailer" Foley, an American veteran, heads a small paramilitary group called Arizona Border Recon, whose goal is to stop Mexico’s drug wars from seeping across our border.
Filmmaker Matthew Heineman embeds himself in the heart of darkness as Nailer, El Doctor, and the cartel each vie to bring their own brand of justice to a society where institutions have failed. From executive producer Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker, Zero Dark Thirty), “Cartel Land” is a chilling, visceral meditation on the breakdown of order and the blurry line between good and evil.
At the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, Heineman received both the Directing Award and Special Jury Award for Cinematography in the U.S. Documentary competition.
“Cartel Land” is one of the best-reviewed documentaries of the summer. The New York Times calls it “urgent and unnerving”, and The Playlist/IndieWire calls it “stunning, vibrant and electrifying!”