Co-directed by Esmirna Librado, Noemi Librado Sanchez, Esmeralda Ventura, and Heriberto Ventura (U.S., 2021)
CLAS is pleased to announce that our free and in-person CineLatino screenings will include film talks with the directors this fall!
First Time Home was directed and shot by young people who are Indigenous Triqui, second-generation immigrants. This is their story, told as they wish to tell it. When four cousins learned their grandfather in Mexico was gravely ill, they traveled from their community in California to their family’s ancestral village in Oaxaca for the first time. The teenagers recorded video letters to share with their parents and other relatives in the U.S., who are farmworkers who have not seen their relatives in Mexico in over 15 years.
Through a mixture of Spanish, Triqui, and English, they got to know their grandparents, aunts, and uncles. In the midst of border politics and violence, the group of cousins forged a link across thousands of miles, developing a newfound pride in their indigenous immigrant identity and a new understanding of the meaning of family. 29 minutes. Spanish, Triqui, and English with English subtitles.
After the screening, co-directors Esmirna Librado, Noemi Librado Sanchez, Esmeralda Ventura, and Heriberto Ventura will be in conversation with Seth Holmes (Producer and Chancellor's Professor in Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management) and Natalia Brizuela (CLAS Chair and Professor of Spanish & Portuguese and Film & Media).
Rising Voices Award - Portland Film Festival 2021