I am proud to have written and directed a film that reflects today’s American family as intersectional, mixed status and mixed ethnic. The Diaz Family, while fighting through separation due to unjust immigration laws, also grapples with disability, police brutality, racism and how to care for children and keep them safe during this time of crisis.
Our film features an international cast and crew, filming in greater Los Angeles and Lancaster, the Oaxacan coast, and on the Tijuana/San Diego border. It is a labor of love made in partnership with professional artists, activists, and community members. We speak in English, Spanish, Spanglish, Hebrew, and the universal language of love.
This period of escalated aggression toward immigrant families and massive upheaval at the Border coincides with attention to the severe inequities of underrepresented communities and the growing commitment to diversity both behind and in front of the camera. As the development process and options for content continue to evolve and grow, I am excited for a project spearheaded by women, people of color and immigrants while also reaching a broad, diverse audience.
We hope that our film will inspire audiences to support laws standing for family unity in lieu of detention and deportation. We also hope to remind audiences that the unjustly deported and those vulnerable to deportation belong to our families and communities, that they should have a say in the future of immigration and the right to remain with or return to their loved ones – as we all should.