Animated documentary about Mexican youth & immigration screens at Fox Theatre

Posted May 23, 2023, 2:05 pm

Bianca Morales
TucsonSentinel.com

'Home is Somewhere Else' trailerThe watercolor piece depicts sisters Elizabeth and Evelyn.

An animated documentary following the stories of children and their experiences as immigrants will screen at the Fox Tucson Theatre on Wednesday as part of Cinema Tucsón's monthly programming.

"Home is Somewhere Else" is by Mexican directors Carlos Hagerman and Jorge Villalobos.

The stories and voices featured on the film are those of Jasmine, sisters Elizabeth and Evelyn, and poet Jose Eduardo Aguilar or Lalo, a.k.a. El Deportee.

Jasmine tells the story of how her father was incarcerated and her passion for activism for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival — the DACA program that serves Dreamers.

Evelyn and Elizabeth share their struggles with young adulthood, distance and their aspirations. Lalo, who infuses his spoken word poetry into the narrative as the host, tells his own experience with deportation and the racism he faced in the United States.

"At first, we wanted to go with a celebrity or someone well-known to be the host of the documentary," Hagerman said in an interview in Spanish. "But then we saw Lalo's talent and how seamless his Spanglish is in his poetry. We ended up having him as the host."

The animation style varies per story. Jasmine's story is drawn in crayons, inspired by her own drawings. The sisters' story is done in watercolors while Lalo's is done in a graphic novel style.

As the stories cross the screen, the audience is able to witness the love, fear and determination shown by the people in the documentary. Hagerman said they are working on creating an impact plan to bring the film to places such as schools and shelters.

"We want to make sure the people who need to see this film have access to it," Hagerman said. "We also worked on creating supplementary materials for teachers to use in classrooms, for example."

The screening will take place on Wednesday, May 24 at 7 p.m. at the Fox Theatre, followed by a Q&A with Hagerman. Tickets are $6. It will play in English and Spanish with English subtitles.

Bianca Morales is TucsonSentinel.com’s Cultural Expression and Community Values reporter, and a Report for America corps member supported by readers like you.