“The filmmaker chooses to explore a subject matter that is all-too-often invisible and neglected: the incarceration of immigrants in the US. By collaborating with the young protagonist to find an innovative filmic language to evoke the socio-economic reality behind his desperation, the filmmaker allows us to empathize with a personal narrative beyond the law.”
— Best Film
Jury Statement,
“As Reyes tells Andrade early in the process, this documentary won’t exonerate him or get him released from prison, but for Andrade, the opportunity to tell his story and have a living example of his memories saved is enough.”
— Kristen Lopez,
“The film conveys the full dimensionality of Sansón’s experience that has so tragically been reduced to the size of a small cell.”
— Stephen Saito,
“An ever-engaging, innovative and moving treatment of race, class, and the criminal-justice system.”
— Christopher Reed,
ABOUT THE FILM
LOGLINE
Two Mexican migrants, a young man serving a life sentence in prison and a filmmaker who was his court interpreter, become intertwined through life and cinema.
LONG SYNOPSIS
During his day job as a Spanish criminal interpreter in a small town in California, filmmaker Rodrigo Reyes met a young man named Sansón, an undocumented Mexican immigrant who was sentenced to life in prison without parole. With no permission to interview him, Sansón and Reyes worked together over a decade, using hundreds of letters as inspiration for recreations of Sansón’s childhood—featuring members of Sansón’s own family. The result is a vibrant portrait of a friendship navigating immigration and the depths of the criminal justice system, and pushing the boundaries of cinematic imagination to rescue a young migrant’s story from oblivion.
Director Rodrigo Reyes
Writers Sansón Noe Andrade, Rodrigo Reyes, Su Kim
Producers Rodrigo Reyes, Su Kim
Executive Producers Sally Jo Fifer, Lois Vossen, Sandie Pedlow, Inti Cordera
Co-Producer Carlos Cárdenas Aguilar
Supervising Producer for ITVS Shana Swanson
Associate Producer Christian Carvajal
Editors Andrea Chignoli, Daniel E. Chávez Ontiveros
cinematographer Alejandro Mejía, AMC
Supervising Sound Editor Ruy Garcia
Music Jacobo Lieberman
Cast Gerardo Reyes, Antonio González Andrade, Miguel Andrade, Débora Andrade Maraveles, Ramón Gómez Mejía, Harmony Isabel González Andrade, Mario Velásquez, Damaris Jarquín, Tabatha Andrade, Rebeca Andrade Maraveles, Soledad Gómez Mejía
FESTIVALS
2022: Tribeca (World Premiere), Sheffield DocFest (International Premiere)
AWARDS
Best Film (Sheffield DocFest)
AVAILABLE TERRITORIES
The World
EXHIBITION FORMATS
DCP, Digital Download
PRESS KIT
Download Press Kit
AVAILABLE PRESS IMAGES (click to preview)
