Hummingbirds

“I want to remember this time, last time, and next time. I want to remember it all with no parts missing, because I appreciate even the bad times.” In this late-night summer self-portrait, Silvia and Beba make magic of everyday moments coming of age on the Texas-Mexico border.

Hummingbirds

USA / 78 min / 2023 / doc
DFW Premiere
in English and Spanish (with subtitles)
Direction: Silvia Del Carmen Castaños, Estefanía “Beba” Contreras
Cinematography: Miguel Drake-McLaughlin, Diane Ng
Editing: Isidore Bethel, Jillian Schlesinger, Leslie Benavides, Sophia Hernandez, Ana Rodriguez-Falco, Zulema Young-Toledo
Producers: Jillian Schlesinger, Miguel Drake-McLaughlin, Leslie Benavides, Ana Rodriguez-Falco, Diane Ng, Rivkah Beth Medow
Cast: Juan Pablo Soto, Benjamin Fuenzalida, Yanko Bravo, Matias Cisternas, Andrea Troncoso

How to film youth? Instead of imposing a predetermined gaze upon its subjects, the form is determined by the encounter between the subjects and the camera. The girls at the heart of Hummingbirds determine its rhythm, its concerns, its beauty. The job of the camera in this case is to capture the energy of its subject, chase it, and give it expression. Filmed in 2019 but only released in 2023, it takes on some of the toughest subjects of our day (immigration and abortion), but treats them lightly and with humor. Indeed after the changes in abortion law in the United States, it's a film that would be impossible to make today - so, with that in mind, why not go out and do some harmless vandalism? Go out and run, express yourself, but don't be last - last one is a republican.