Cartel Land

Cartel Land is a 2015 American documentary film directed by Matthew Heineman about the Mexican Drug War, especially vigilante groups fighting Mexican drug cartels. The film focuses on Tim "Nailer" Foley, the leader of Arizona Border Recon, and Dr José Mireles, a Michoacán-based physician who leads the Autodefensas. Heineman won the Best Director Award and Special Jury Award for Cinematography for the film in the U.S. Documentary Competition at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival, where the documentary premiered. He was presented the award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary by the Directors Guild of America, as well as the 2015 Courage Under Fire Award for the film by the International Documentary Association. The film was also nominated for Best Documentary at the 69th British Academy Film Awards and for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 88th Academy Awards. The film received the 2015 Documentary Film Award from the George Polk Awards in Journalism. On February 12, 2015, Orchard Films acquired the rights to the film. Cartel Land was released theatrically in the summer of 2015 and aired on A&E on January 4, 2016.