Director’s Statement
Personal documentary filmmaking is a site of redress and an agent of cultural change.
I seek to subvert the mainstream depiction of immigrant women as victims, heroes, and threats, and instead focus on the agency and resilience of everyday migrant workers.
Artistically unifying the film over the course of the story, my artwork is a powerful metaphor, providing a commentary on empowerment and resilience. Vibrant and intimate in execution, these paintings become vehicles for transformative art and cultural healing. They provide the viewer with a sense of the agency and courage that immigrants carry despite the social forces that pull them apart.
My journey might be unique in its particulars, but its essence is shared by millions of Latina and other immigrant women who have been separated from their families in their struggle to seek out a better life, pursue a life of meaning and purpose, or simply to support their own families.
By exploring these issues through an intimate yet transnational lens, “Prodigal Daughter” will offer a space for reflection, dialogue, and community healing, building bridges of understanding among immigrant women, families, advocates, educators, and policymakers.
