El Regreso – A Dreamer Awakens – Coming Soon!

El Regreso (The Return) follows filmmaker and DACA recipient Samantha Ramirez-Herrera as she returns to Mexico for the first time in nearly thirty years after leaving as a young child. Set during Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead), the film explores identity, belonging, family, memory, and healing as Samantha reconnects with relatives, confronts unresolved trauma, and reflects on what it means to be a Dreamer living between two cultures. Through personal storytelling, the film examines the emotional costs of migration while celebrating the power of ancestral connection and cultural remembrance. 

Educational resources for El Regreso are coming soon. These will include a short discussion guide in the format of a printer-friendly PDF and a Google Slideshow for ease of use in classrooms to discuss the film. Key themes include: Identity and Belonging, Rebirth and Transformation Through Ancestral Connection, Storytelling as a Tool for Visibility and Change, Community, Solidarity, and Collective Action. The guide includes activities, including a mapping activity, community service learning, interview-related activities and more.

Samantha Ramirez-Herrera will also be joining Journeys in Film in our upcoming Library of Congress Teaching with Primary Sources webinar: The Art of Inquiry, on July 29th. Learn more about the webinar here and click here to register.