"How can you love a country that hates you so much?"

A sixth grader asked the question of Pulitzer Prize-winning undocumented journalist Jose Antonio Vargas during a screening of his powerful film "Documented" in San Francisco, California.

Initially speechless, something Vargas says almost never happens, he was taken aback by the "heartbreaking" question and puzzled over how to answer it. But then, somehow, he found the right words.

"It doesn't hate me. It just doesn't know me yet."

As tough as it was to be asked that question, these are the kind of grueling gut-checks that have kept Vargas on his toes. Innocent yet thought-provoking questions like these keep him searching to find the right answers, open a nationwide dialogue and amplify the unheard voices of undocumented immigrants in the U.S. who are caught in the political crossfires of a broken immigration system.

An inquisitive, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, Vargas worked for the Washington Post, where he acquired a reputation for breaking news coverage on the Virginia Tech shootings. He landed the cover of TIME Magazine and profiled Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg for The New Yorker. He's even been named one of "50 Politicos to Watch," by Politico, among many other notable achievements throughout his stellar career.

"Journalism is everything I have ever had; it's been my church," he said at a screening of his film "Documented" on April 17 at the Museum of the Moving Image in Long Island City, New York, which Latin Post attended.

"Some journalists think that because I have joined the 'other side' [by becoming an immigration reform activist] that I am no longer a journalist."

But at CNN, which is a part of one biggest media companies in the world, that attitude falls on deaf ears. In fact, CNN thinks his film "Documented" is so impactful that it is broadcasting it on its major network this summer.

Vargas has been a media watchdog for over a decade, perfecting his craft as a professional journalist and storyteller relating the American experience -- an ironic twist to his own story that makes it all the more compelling. He is the definition of the American dream -- sans papers.

"I thought I could write my way into America," a perplexed Vargas says in the film.

Vargas is also the founder of "Define American," a non-profit organization that "seeks to elevate the conversation about immigration" -- and his crusade across the country is bringing the conversation to new heights.

While on the road, spearheading discussions and showing his film, what Vargas found to be the "most tragic" was how many people used the words "immigrant and Mexican interchangeably."

He encountered ignorance from a blue collar worker, but he also found a forward-thinking, conservative Republican farmer who doesn't agree with his party's stance on immigration reform. Trying to understand all perspectives, Vargas emphasizes that we all must engage in the conversation to really break through misinformed mindsets to implement real change.

The compelling film "Documented" begins in 2011, when Vargas outed himself as an undocumented immigrant in an essay published in The New York Times Magazine, an act which changed his life.

In "Documented," Vargas shares the story of his journey to America from the Philippines at the age of 12, when he came to live with his grandparents who legally immigrated to the U.S. He lived with the hope that his mother would someday join him, but there have been too many legal hurdles for her to come to the U.S.

Unaware of his undocumented immigration status until he was refused a driver's license at 16, Vargas lived his life in secrecy while thriving in school and in the arts. Besides his grandparents, his support system included his principal, teachers and friends who became his adopted family.

While living this double life, Vargas admits that he just wanted to fit in and was embarrassed by Filipino culture and his grandparents' strong accents -- qualities that he loves and embraces today.

In the film, Vargas transforms from a journalist to an immigration reform activist as he embarks on a cross-country journey to promote the DREAM Act, taking the risk that at any moment he could be deported while flying domestically. His emotional journey led him to reconnect with his mother, whom he had not seen in person in over 20 years.

"I am privileged to still be in America, my home, and privileged to put 'Documented' on the screen," he wrote in an earlier report for CNN.

"To me, politics is culture. I became a journalist, and later a filmmaker, to get to know my new country and my volatile place in it as a gay, undocumented Filipino-American. As a newcomer to America who learned to 'speak American' by watching movies, I firmly believe that to change the politics of immigration and citizenship, we must change culture -- the way we portray undocumented people like me and our role in society," Vargas says.

"That's why I felt compelled to take charge of my own narrative and write, produce and direct 'Documented.'"

Vargas was inspired by "The Joy Luck Club," which he points out was the only mainstream film that featured Asians, and he ended up working alongside an amazing team of executive producers, including Napster co-founder Sean Parker, The Hangover's Scott Budnick -- and "The Joy Luck Club's" Janet Yang.

Immigrant Heritage Week & the Film's Impact in NYC

On April 17, the screening of "Documented" kicked off Immigrant Heritage Week (April 17-24) which "celebrates the histories and contributions of New York City's diverse immigrant communities." A panel discussion followed the screening, which included Colombian filmmaker Paolo Mendoza and Nisha Agarwal, Commissioner, NYC Mayor's Office of Immigrant Affairs, who were both extremely moved by the film.

Emotionally gripped and in a sea of my own tears, I realized that Vargas' story resonates with almost every immigrant, and anyone who has parents or grandparents who have immigrated to the U.S. in search of a better life.

"I could not imagine a better kickoff than this film," said Agrawal, who promotes social justice for immigrant communities within New York City. "My parents are immigrants from India. There was a lot in that the film that resonated with my experience with trying to get to know relatives who live oceans away, and how you try to create that bridge and community through space and time."

A very emotional Mendoza, who directed "Entre Nos," a film inspired by her mother who came to the U.S. from Colombia, recalled the first time she read Vargas' New York Times Magazine article.

"I was riveted, and I couldn't believe it when I was reading the story, the bravery that he had to do what he did. I said 'this guy is amazing, I've got to meet this guy.' Life would have it that we met and I am so honored and proud, beyond being a filmmaker, as an activist and as a friend," she said.

While Vargas' journey has positioned him as a trailblazer for comprehensive immigration reform, he is still searching for concrete change.

With such experience and contributions to society and media, it should be simple to put Vargas on the right path to citizenship, but like the DREAMers, he longs for comprehensive immigration reform and doesn't want to live in constant fear of deportation.

Vargas lives in New York, where "an estimated 90,000 young immigrants are eligible for the DREAM Act," but its recent failure derailed DREAMers and diminished their hopes of getting financial aid for college.

"It's an embarrassment that New York State can't get a DREAM Act passed," Vargas said. "It's an embarrassment of monstrous proportions."

Vargas was hit hard when the Obama administration halted the deportation of undocumented immigrants under age 30 eligible for the DREAM Act -- he doesn't qualify because he is over 30. It's a pivotal moment captured in his film.

"This is not the film I set out to make, but it is the film I needed to make. A broken immigration system means broken families and broken lives. I did not realize how broken I was until I saw how broken Mama was. In the process of documenting myself, I ended up documenting Mama -- and the sacrifices of parents who make America what it is, then and now," Vargas says in his directors' statement.

"And in telling my own specifically universal story, I hope it incites others to tell their stories too. At the very least, I want viewers to ask the question I posed as I filmed and traveled our country: 'How do you define American?'"

During the screening in New York, Vargas joked that he initially thought the movie was going to be like "Superman meets the Dream Act," but it was much more complicated than he thought.

Vargas may not have superpowers, but he could be the modern-day Superman his country desperately needs.

"Documented" will be released at New York's Village East Cinema on Friday, May 2 and in Los Angeles at the Landmark Regent on May 9, followed by additional cities around the country. The film casts a wider net with its upcoming broadcast on CNN this summer.

Check out the trailer for "Documented" below.