Here and There

Aqui y Alla

Winner at the Cannes Film Festival and AFI Fest, AQUI Y ALLA is a story about hope, and the memories and loss of what we leave behind.

Pedro returns home to a small mountain village in Guerrero, Mexico after years of working in the US. He finds his daughters older, and more distant than he imagined. His wife still has the same smile. Having saved some earnings from two trips to the US, he hopes to now finally make a better life with his family, and even to pursue his dreams on the side by starting a band: Copa Kings. He cherishes the everyday moments with his family.

The villagers think this year's crop will be bountiful. There is also good work in a growing city an hour away. But the locals are wise to a life of insecurity, and their thoughts are often of family members or opportunities far away, north of the border. While working in the fields, Pedro meets and begins to mentor a teenager who dreams of the US. That place somehow always feels very present, practically knocking at the door.

"Develops a narrative urgency and a more forthright sympathy for its working-class characters...a poignant, impassioned tone reminiscent of classic neorealism." - Chicago Reader