The memories of a murderer, the complexities of Mexican migration.
Rodrigo Reyes is an award-winning filmmaker whose films push the boundaries of documentary and fiction.
During his day job as a court interpreter in a small Californian town, resolute filmmaker Rodrigo Reyes befriends a young Mexican, Sansón Noe Andrade, who is a defendant in a gang-related murder trial. After Sansón is found guilty, Rodrigo is denied permission to film him by prison authorities, so spends the next decade crafting poetic recreations of Sansón’s childhood based on hundreds of letters between them. Despite, or perhaps because of, the absence of the real Sansón, the result is a vivid, expertly crafted and moving portrait of an individual who has fallen through the gaping cracks of America’s shattered immigration and justice systems.
“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.” (Indiewire)
“An ever-engaging, innovative and moving treatment of race, class, and the criminal-justice system.” (The Moveable Feast)
Best Film, Sheffield Doc/Fest 2022.