El Regreso

Directed by Samantha Ramirez-Herrera

At Age 7, Sam Ramirez-Herrera left Mexico with her family in pursuit of the American Dream. Now a filmmaker, DACA recipient and advocate for undocumented immigrants in the U.S., Sam, like so many other "Dreamers," finds herself caught between two nations-fully belonging to none. On the eve of Dia De Los Muertos, she is offered the opportunity to return to Mexico after 30 years away. Leaving the U.S. for the first time, Sam embarks on a journey to reconnect with her past and convene with her Mexican family, both living and dead. As her trip stirs traumas on both sides of the border, her homecoming reveals to her the great cost of her decades old crossing and upends her conception of the American Dream she's spent her life fighting to achieve. Against the vibrant visual backdrop of Mexico's Day Of The Dead, "El Regreso" explores rebirth through the lens of one dreamer's awakening.