Migración. 2008. Colombia. Directed by Marcela Gómez Montoya. DCP. In Spanish; English subtitles. 25 min.
Al otro lado (To the Other Side). 2005. Mexico. Directed by Natalia Almada. DCP. In English, Spanish; English subtitles. 60 min.
In Sinaloa, Mexico, generations have supported themselves as fishermen, but with the ocean increasingly depleted by unchecked overfishing, many have turned their fishing boats into drug-running operations. In To the Other Side, director Natalia Almada deftly tells an intimate story of crossing the border through corridos, traditional Mexican ballads that are both outlaw poetry and social history. When Magdiel, a fisherman and talented musician who dreams of moving to the United States, has his visa declined and can’t afford a trip across the border, it seems corridos may be his only ticket out. In Migración, Marcela Gómez Montoya copes with separation from her family by telling their story through home movies sent by her parents and younger sister from the US, where they migrated eight years earlier.