Drawing on images from a non-existent border between Santa Elena, Chihuahua, and Big Bend National Park in Texas. La Bi-vencia explores the reunion of a ghost town next to the Rio Grand that was abandoned after 9/11.

The filmmakers, Mariana Gongora-Reyes and Analaura Cardenas were selected fellows of Femme Frontera’s 2022 La Frontera Film Lab made possible by the support of the Sundance Institute.

Documentary Short
Spanish with English subtitles, English

Directed by Mariana Gongora-Reyes and Analaura Cardenas

“Homesick” is a modern-day tale of two star-crossed lovers, separated by a global pandemic and the U.S.-Mexico Border. This film focuses on the love and bond that unites people and communities across borders—and the heartbreak that exists when that unity is broken.

Narrative Short, English

Directed by Valeria Contreras

Without parents to guide them, Loretta and Raven reflect on the love their parents modelled and the grief of their loss. While one finds catharsis in their mother’s old VHS camera the other struggles with a potential pregnancy.

Narrative Short, English

Directed by Morningstar Angeline and Ajuawak Kapashesit

A short about a family whose fundamental relationships have been replaced with a chain of anomalous ones. A film that, despite most of the well known Iranian shorts and features, not only talks about Iran but also about a subject that involves every society.

Narrative Short, 2021, Persian with English subtitles

Directed by Ziba Karamali and Emad Arad

A young woman wakes up to find herself lying on a small glowing island, an amusement park called Mommyland, exploring various rides such as a roller coaster, carousel, and distorted mirrors, which all remind her of her fears and anxieties about pregnancy.

Animated Short, 2022, English

Directed by Aijian Chen

In the wake of 9/11 and after losing her mother, Amina, a Muslim teenager, struggles with the gaze of Islamophobia from surveillance to the 24-hour news cycle until she discovers and begins sampling her mother’s record collection.

“At the intersection of music and memory, this hybrid film blurs the lines between surveillance and archival repair. It is indiscernible to know who is being watched, but in a world with watchful eyes, Amina chooses how she sees herself.” - LAIFF

Experimental Short, 2022, Spanish with English subtitles

Directed by Shireen Alihaji

CW: themes of domestic violence.

Barricaded in a motel room, a mother’s determination and primal instincts kick in to protect her child's innocence.

Lioness boldly and tenderly delves into a widespread social issue from a unique, evocative and personal perspective. It is a film imbued with truth, fragility, bravery, and above all, hope. Partially inspired by a true event at a domestic violence shelter, the film shows the unyielding love these brave survivors - the lionesses - have for their children.

Narrative Short, 2022, English

Directed by Molly E. Smith

A non-binary day-dreamer pines for the life of the girl next door, but soon finds out the grass isn’t always greener on the other side.

Narrative Short, 2022, English

Directed by Ryan Rox