Parts of downtown Santa Rosa closed on Thursday for the filming of a movie scene featuring actors portraying immigration agents. City leaders notified the public in advance, saying some of the scenes could appear realistic. D Street between 2nd and 3rd Streets was closed as crews filmed a scene f or the independent film named “The silence we flee”, featuring actors portraying immigration agents. “The movie is about people running, and running for redemption,” said Hasan Mageye, director of the film. The film follows an African immigrant seeking asylum in the United States. Mageye says the story explores some of the challenges immigrants may face after arriving in this country. “When people run to places of safety and then they stumble into a resistance which does not allow them to stay,” he said. The city also posted a notice on social media ahead of filming, warning that some scenes could be mistaken for an actual immigration enforcement operation. Officials say they provided additional notice, including bilingual messaging, to help avoid confusion. “We know it’s really sensitive and we understand why it’s sensitive towards our community, so we did bilingual messaging and a much higher level of noticing than we would normally do for a film, because we really want to make sure that people knew and that they didn’t mistake it for actual immigration enforcement activity,” City of Santa Rosa Spokesperson Misti Wood said. With the street closed, people walking by the set stopped to see what was happening. “Movies being filmed in our city are always kinda cool regardless of the premise,” Santa Rosa resident Briana McCrea said. Vikram Badhan, a nearby business owner, says he was pleased to see the production filming in Santa Rosa and appreciated the subject the film explores. “As the biggest city in Sonoma County, it’s very important to take the progressive step. Be featured in historic moments,” Badhan said. The production says it does not plan to film any additional immigration enforcement scenes in Santa Rosa after Thursday. ...read more read less