Felipe, an undocumented Mexican immigrant, has reached a crossroad. After living 16 years in Brooklyn, working three-paying jobs, and sending the bulk of his earnings to his wife and children in Mexico, he's decided to return home to the family he hasn't seen in almost two decades. But when he informs them of his plans, he discovers that they've squandered the money, are deeply in debt and don’t want him to return. They need him to stay in the U.S....

When I was a girl, I had a strong role model in my life: my aunt Adriana. In 2007, she was detained and I found out she worked as an agent at DINA (Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional) in Pinochet’s secret police, which has often been compared to the Gestapo of Nazi Germany. My aunt claims to have never seen or participated in any instances of torture, but nevertheless she flee to Australia to avoid trial. In the hope that I can prove my aunt’s...

The National Pyrotechnic Festival in Tultepec, Mexico is a site of festivity unlike any other in the world. In celebration of San Juan de Dios, patron saint of firework makers, revelry engulfs the town for ten days. Artisans show off their technical virtuosity, up-and-comers create their own rowdy, lo-fi combustibles, and dozens of teams build larger-than- life papier-mâché bulls to parade into the town square, adorned with fireworks that blow...

What do people seek when they step into the unknown? LOOKING FOR ADVENTURE is a striking observational documentary that follows an international tour group trekking through Peru. Travelers enjoy the beauties of historic Cuzco, the mysteries of a rain forest, and the splendor of Machu Picchu; however, their interactions with Peruvians are primarily short, staged, or commodified, with few significant connections. As the tourists journey through the...

WITH A STROKE OF CHAVETA takes viewers into the legendary cigar factories of Cuba to witness the survival of the collective reading of literature while “tabaqueros” roll cigars. We learn how through "la lectura de tabaquería" cigar workers have been entertained, educated, and maintained a sense of class solidarity. Current day cigarmakers tell us they can’t imagine a workplace without their beloved “lectores.

In a cinematic letter to his son, native Rapanui (Easter Island) filmmaker Sergio Mata'u Rapu explores the modern dilemma of their people, decendants of the ancient statue builders, as they face the consequences of their rapidly developing home.

The jamaica flower and tamarind are iconic ingredients in Mexico, but their history comes from a place much further away. In JAMAICA AND TAMARINDO: AFRO TRADITION IN THE HEART OF MEXICO, we meet five people to explore African heritage in Mexico City, an identity that goes beyond the color of one's skin.

Sometimes, ordinary people can create extraordinary positive change. The people of a small community in Veracruz are the guardians of one of the ecosystems facing the most risk in the country: the cloud forest. Hoping to save their sacred and fog-laden land, they work for a simpler and sustainable life. Sixteen families redesign their needs, food, education and relationship with other people and with nature. They create an entirely self-sustaining...

Costa Rica’s motto is Pura Vida - Pure Life - and it boasts some of the most spectacular wildlife in the world. Venture across the nation’s rugged landscapes, from volcanic peaks to coastal jungle to misty cloud forests and get to know Costa Rica’s dazzling diversity of hummingbirds. Discover these astonishing little birds’ outsize ripple effects on macaws, quetzals, monkeys, tapirs and more.

What are the greatest risks guerrilleros face today? After the signing of the Peace Agreement between the Colombian government and the FARC-EP in 2016, more than 200 guerrillas enter a demobilization camp where rebels prepare for a life without arms. The stories of Mabel, Liliana, Juan, and Carlos Antonio, all with the names they acquired in the war, are enmeshed around dreams, ideas, heartbreak, and danger. It documents their experiences within the...