Chris Weitz, the director of the smash hit “Twilight: New Moon” has a pet project. The movie, “A Better Life,” stars Mexican celebrity actor Demian Bechir as Carlos, an illegal immigrant gardener living in Southern California. Carlos is constantly working and trying to keep his son out of trouble. He finally scrapes up enough money to buy a used truck, just to have it stolen hours later. The film’s plot, at first glance, focuses on Carlos’ journey to get his truck back. However, as Weitz points out, that is only the surface. "It might as well be a science-fiction film,” says Weitz. "There are worlds within worlds within worlds — almost a parallel universe." The goal is to display the hardships of an illegal immigrant in the U.S.—the struggle to stay above water, to stay underground, and the attempt to live some sort of semblance of a normal life. Weitz says, "All he does is work. He is invisible — and he prefers to remain invisible. Because to raise his head is to risk getting in trouble."

Weitz took on the film to make a more real connection with his family. Weitz’ grandmother is a Mexican immigrant and his wife is Cuban-Mexican. "Part of the motivation for doing this was to get in touch with my roots,” he said. Weitz, the father to a four year-old son, also connected to the fatherhood aspect of the project, saying, "The issues that the film raise are the biggest ones. It's about the love of a father for a son." Weitz went on to describe Carlos’ struggle as an immigrant father, saying, "The father is a good and decent man, but doesn't have enough time to parent his son. And the son has the usual teenage issues with authority and his father. But the son is deracinated — he's stuck between a Mexico he doesn't know much about and an American popular culture he doesn't quite understand. He's never fully at home."

“A Better Life” has been years in the making. The script itself has been around since the late 80’s when producer of such hit TV shows as “Soap” and “The Golden Girls,” Paul Junger Witt, heard the story and attempted to develop it for film. It went through various stages of development. Cheech Marin was, at one point, slated for the lead role but it ran into marketing roadblocks. Witt said of the project, "People didn't know how to promote it. They didn't know how to sell it." Even though it’s an old story, “A Better Life” couldn’t have come at a more appropriate time. Immigration is a raging political debate in the U.S. and illegal immigrants are often demonized by right-wing politicians and their constituents, scapegoats for a frustrating economy. For the second time, Congress will consider the DREAM Act and state after state passes laws further restricting immigration and making immigrants lives more difficult. The film studio, Summit, is hoping for a hit and immigration advocates are hoping for a statement.