Sueños que migran

Mariano´s mother in her traditional clothes from Chamula and surrounded by the mountains of his home town calls him by cellphone.

About the Project

A young Tsotsil man living undocumented in New York City seeks to maintain his identity, from his now-forced exile, while exploring the profound meaning of migrating, the value of origins, and community. Inspired by the tradition of direct cinema, the documentary takes us from New York to a Tsotsil Mayan village, introducing us to various dimensions of migration.

Project Team

Juan Javier Pérez Pérez

Juan Javier Pérez Pérez is Tsotsil from Zincantán, Chiapas. He studied Documentary Film at San Cristóbal de las Casas Documentary Film School, where he directed the short documentary Nichimal Son (2018). Vaychiletik, his debut feature, premiered at the 2021 Biarritz Amerique Latine Festival in France, with a special mention for best documentary, and has won awards at festivals recognized for their cinematic excellence. Juan Javier is currently directing and co-editing his second feature-length documentary, Migrant Dreams.

Daniela Contreras

Daniela Contreras has produced several feature and short documentaries, which have been presented and awarded at national and international festivals. In the last five years, the documentaries she produced through Terra Nostra Films have won over 90 awards worldwide. In 2015, she co-founded the independent project Escuela de Cine Documental de San Cristóbal de Las Casas, Chiapas, which has trained two generations of students. They have produced eight short films that have been selected for national and international festivals, with the greatest achievement being their participation as semifinalists in the Student Academy Awards (Oscars Academy, USA, 2024).