Program

Forty years ago, Rafael Larraenza risked everything to cross from Mexico to the US. After building a successful career, a twist of fate drew him back to the border. For 25 years, Rafael has tirelessly searched deserts and mountains to rescue lost immigrants and recover remains, becoming a hero in Latin American communities. Despite needing a double hip replacement, Rafael continues his mission, knowing every moment counts for those lost at the border. When Indira, a mother from El Salvador, asks for help finding her son Rodrigo, Rafael risks his life again, driven on by sheer determination, even as the years and terrain take their toll.

Las Muertes Más Bellas del Mundo/The Most Beautiful Deaths in the World tells the story of five artists whose families fled El Salvador’s civil war in the 1980’s, landed in the nation’s capital, and created art out of war.

As Peru spirals into political unrest in 1992, Lucía and Aurora prepare to leave for a better life in the U.S. with their mother. But to go, they need their estranged father, Carlos, to sign consent papers. What begins as a bureaucratic necessity becomes a reckoning, as the sisters confront the charm and contradictions of a man they hardly know. Over one final summer in Lima, childhood innocence slips away and buried truths surface. As Carlos struggles to reclaim a place in their hearts, each family member must face what this departure truly means—letting go of illusions, rewriting family history, and embracing the pain of saying goodbye.

Adrián works far from home, mediating between the company that employs him and the workers who trust him. He believes he can balance both worlds — until a workplace accident uncovers the quiet brutality beneath the surface. Adrián must decide where his loyalty truly lies. Featuring CLAIFF alum Alejandra Herrera.

Twenty years after Mi vida dentro (2007), filmmaker Lucía Gajá revisits Rosa Estela Olvera's story. Vidas en la orilla portrays the flaws of the criminal justice system in the United States and the tragic consequences of a wrongful conviction. Two interconnected narratives revealed what Rosa Estela Olvera (My life inside, 2007) had to endure in prison for 18 years: a psychoemotional exploration of the loneliness of confinement; and the long and arduous legal battle to clear her name.

This year's Hecho en Tejas Competition celebrates Texas filmmakers capturing lives rarely seen on screen. Intimate, urgent, and rooted in real communities, these films ask what it means to survive, remember, and resist. The films in this showcase are eligible for both an Audience Award and a Jury Award, presented in partnership with the Texas Archive of the Moving Image (TAMI). Meet the directors, cast your vote, and stay for the party!