Logline: Ana and Pedro, an indigenous Maya-Chuj couple from the highlands of Guatemala, cross Mexico to free their niece, Juanita, who was interrogated without an interpreter and unjustly detained for more than seven years. This intimate portrait follows Ana and Pedro during the culminating moments of the campaign to free Juanita, led by their indigenous community, which became an internationally recognized cause. 

Context: In 2014 the United States gave Mexico millions of dollars as part of the “Plan Frontera Sur” to make it as difficult as possible for migrants to reach the border, resulting in an increase in human rights violations, arbitrary detentions, and forced disappearances.

Juanita's case is one of the hundreds of thousands of migrant cases trapped within a system designed to criminalize migration.

Our team’s main goal is to spotlight Juanita’s case that became emblematic of the fight against linguistic discrimination and the injustices of a migrant 'containment' system imposed by our governments. It is crucial for us to show how the unconditional support of a community, combined with the efforts of international human rights networks, can resist and counteract these harmful policies.

Finishing Funds: We are still raising money to pay for the final expenses required to get this film out into the world to its intended audience. These costs include festival submissions, legal fees, closed captions, trailer edit, promotional materials, official poster design, etc.

Impact Campaign: Freeing Juanita is partnering with organizations in the US and Mexico to raise awareness about indigenous language justice and migrant rights issues, fostering transnational migrant rights collaboration, as well as partnering with Promotores de Liberación Migrante in Guatemala to organize community screenings in Maya communities throughout Guatemala, featuring workshops providing a space for community reflection on the massive impacts of anti-migrant policy in the US and Mexico, which impacts everyone.