Jonathan (“Pollo”) and Enrique (“Gordo”) are 14-year old orphans making their own living on the streets of Tijuana, the busiest frontier city in the world. Jonathan assists the “Coyotes” in smuggling people across the Mexico/U.S. border and Enrique blows fireballs for entertainment.
TIJUANA, NADA MAS is a heart-wrenching glimpse into the lives of two boys struggling to survive within the confines of geographical and cultural borders. Over a seven-month period, Jonathan abandons his life as a “Coyote” to try to live under the care of a foster mother and Enrique maintains, “Here is beautiful.” TIJUANA, NADA MAS examines the invisible and more immediate boundaries of these boys’ lives—discrimination, poverty, uncertainty—and asks: How can you cross a border that exists beneath the surface? Is there really an “other side”?
Awards
• Emerging Latino Filmmaker Award at the Independent Film Week, IFP/ Fledgling Fund
• Student Academy Awards Finalist
• David L. Wolper Best Student Doc Award Nominee, International Documentary Association
• We Believe In You Award, Tides Fund/Chicken & Egg Pictures
Screenings
• Los Angeles International Short Film Festival
• Corto Circuito International Film Festival
• Angelus International Film Festival
• Academy of Motion Pictures Theater, Lighthouse International