Oaxacalifornia: The Return

Oaxacalifornia: The Return

Mexico/USA, 2021, 84 min. In English and Spanish, with English subtitles
Aspect Ratio: 1.90; shot in 4K DCI

Mexico/USA, 2021, 84 min. In English and Spanish, with English subtitles
Aspect Ratio: 1.90; shot in 4K DCI

SYNOPSIS
An intimate portrait of three generations of a Mexican-American family in California, Oaxacalifornia: The Return revisits the Mejía family twenty-five years after they were first portrayed negotiating their place in a new environment, digging deep into the complexities of multigenerational immigrant identities and the nuances of both belonging and otherness to become a moving epic about the fabric of this nation.

SYNOPSIS
An intimate portrait of three generations of a Mexican-American family in California, Oaxacalifornia: The Return revisits the Mejía family twenty-five years after they were first portrayed negotiating their place in a new environment, digging deep into the complexities of multigenerational immigrant identities and the nuances of both belonging and otherness to become a moving epic about the fabric of this nation.

SYNOPSIS
An intimate portrait of three generations of a Mexican-American family in California, Oaxacalifornia: The Return revisits the Mejía family twenty-five years after they were first portrayed negotiating their place in a new environment, digging deep into the complexities of multigenerational immigrant identities and the nuances of both belonging and otherness to become a moving epic about the fabric of this nation.

SYNOPSIS
An intimate portrait of three generations of a Mexican-American family in California, Oaxacalifornia: The Return revisits the Mejía family twenty-five years after they were first portrayed negotiating their place in a new environment, digging deep into the complexities of multigenerational immigrant identities and the nuances of both belonging and otherness to become a moving epic about the fabric of this nation.

SYNOPSIS
An intimate portrait of three generations of a Mexican-American family in California, Oaxacalifornia: The Return revisits the Mejía family twenty-five years after they were first portrayed negotiating their place in a new environment, digging deep into the complexities of multigenerational immigrant identities and the nuances of both belonging and otherness to become a moving epic about the fabric of this nation.

LONG SYNOPSIS
Twenty-five years ago, English-born Mexican director Trisha Ziff produced her first documentary about the Mejía family as they navigated their new reality as recently arrived immigrants to the United States. Picking up where the 1994 film left off, we meet the third generation of Mejías, now second-generation American teenagers, as they navigate what it means to be both Mexican and American in this country.

Shot on both sides of the border, Oaxacalifornia: The Return compellingly illustrates the ways in which multigenerational identities shift and take on new meanings within a single family to allow its members to seamlessly adapt to a bicultural reality. Challenging older narratives that defined the migrant experience of those like the Mejía grandparents as one stuck between two worlds, or being ni de aquí ni de allá (neither here nor there), the grandchildren explore and reclaim their identities as being both de aquí y de allá (from here and there).  

Chronicling three generations of one American family, Oaxacalifornia: The Return reminds us of the nuances of both belonging and otherness that make up the fabric of this nation and crescendos to become a moving epic of everyday life for the modern age. 

LONG SYNOPSIS
Twenty-five years ago, English-born Mexican director Trisha Ziff produced her first documentary about the Mejía family as they navigated their new reality as recently arrived immigrants to the United States. Picking up where the 1994 film left off, we meet the third generation of Mejías, now second-generation American teenagers, as they navigate what it means to be both Mexican and American in this country. Shot on both sides of the border, Oaxacalifornia: The Return compellingly illustrates the ways in which multigenerational identities shift and take on new meanings within a single family to allow its members to seamlessly adapt to a bicultural reality. Challenging older narratives that defined the migrant experience of those like the Mejía grandparents as one stuck between two worlds, or being ni de aquí ni de allá (neither here nor there), the grandchildren explore and reclaim their identities as being both de aquí y de allá (from here and there).  

Chronicling three generations of one American family, Oaxacalifornia: The Return reminds us of the nuances of both belonging and otherness that make up the fabric of this nation and crescendos to become a moving epic of everyday life for the modern age.

LONG SYNOPSIS
Twenty-five years ago, English-born Mexican director Trisha Ziff produced her first documentary about the Mejía family as they navigated their new reality as recently arrived immigrants to the United States. Picking up where the 1994 film left off, we meet the third generation of Mejías, now second-generation American teenagers, as they navigate what it means to be both Mexican and American in this country. Shot on both sides of the border, Oaxacalifornia: The Return compellingly illustrates the ways in which multigenerational identities shift and take on new meanings within a single family to allow its members to seamlessly adapt to a bicultural reality. Challenging older narratives that defined the migrant experience of those like the Mejía grandparents as one stuck between two worlds, or being ni de aquí ni de allá (neither here nor there), the grandchildren explore and reclaim their identities as being both de aquí y de allá (from here and there).  

Chronicling three generations of one American family, Oaxacalifornia: The Return reminds us of the nuances of both belonging and otherness that make up the fabric of this nation and crescendos to become a moving epic of everyday life for the modern age.

LONG SYNOPSIS
Twenty-five years ago, English-born Mexican director Trisha Ziff produced her first documentary about the Mejía family as they navigated their new reality as recently arrived immigrants to the United States. Picking up where the 1994 film left off, we meet the third generation of Mejías, now second-generation American teenagers, as they navigate what it means to be both Mexican and American in this country. Shot on both sides of the border, Oaxacalifornia: The Return compellingly illustrates the ways in which multigenerational identities shift and take on new meanings within a single family to allow its members to seamlessly adapt to a bicultural reality. Challenging older narratives that defined the migrant experience of those like the Mejía grandparents as one stuck between two worlds, or being ni de aquí ni de allá (neither here nor there), the grandchildren explore and reclaim their identities as being both de aquí y de allá (from here and there).  

Chronicling three generations of one American family, Oaxacalifornia: The Return reminds us of the nuances of both belonging and otherness that make up the fabric of this nation and crescendos to become a moving epic of everyday life for the modern age.

LONG SYNOPSIS
Twenty-five years ago, English-born Mexican director Trisha Ziff produced her first documentary about the Mejía family as they navigated their new reality as recently arrived immigrants to the United States. Picking up where the 1994 film left off, we meet the third generation of Mejías, now second-generation American teenagers, as they navigate what it means to be both Mexican and American in this country.

Shot on both sides of the border, Oaxacalifornia: The Return compellingly illustrates the ways in which multigenerational identities shift and take on new meanings within a single family to allow its members to seamlessly adapt to a bicultural reality. Challenging older narratives that defined the migrant experience of those like the Mejía grandparents as one stuck between two worlds, or being ni de aquí ni de allá (neither here nor there), the grandchildren explore and reclaim their identities as being both de aquí y de allá (from here and there).  

Chronicling three generations of one American family, Oaxacalifornia: The Return reminds us of the nuances of both belonging and otherness that make up the fabric of this nation and crescendos to become a moving epic of everyday life for the modern age.

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Credits

Production companies: 212BERLIN Production in collaboration with Faction Films
Director, Writer, Producer: Trisha Ziff
Producers: Andrew Houchens, Isabel del Río
Executive Producers: Lawrence Davin, Alejandro Springall, Sylvia Stevens 
Co-Producers: Hugo Villa Smythe, Alan Suárez
Associate Producers: Daniel Alatorre, Elena Fortes
Editor, Writer: Jorge Márquez
Cinematography: Felipe Pérez Burchard, Mario García Joya, Seamus McGarvey
Direct Sound: Percival Agüero y Cristina Esquerra
Original Music: Jacobo Lieberman, Andrés Sánchez Maher
Sound Design: Pablo Lach
Post-Producer: Fernando Maganda

With support from: California Humanities, IMCINE-EFICINE, National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Sundance Institute.

CONTACT
Trisha Ziff 

+52 55 5659 1859 

México, City 

email: administrador@212berlin.com

CONTACT
Trisha Ziff 

+52 55 5659 1859 

México, City 

email:

administrador@212berlin.com