El Oaxaqueño

Leyver was sentenced to prison for attempted murder at age 18. He would spend the next five years in solitary confinement, during which he underwent a fundamental transformation. He took every opportunity to get his life back on track, earning his GED and a college degree, becoming a representative to the warden’s office, as well as immersing himself in Buddhism and expressing himself through art. Leyver also made amends to his parents and re-established a relationship with his ex-girlfriend, Keesha, and Victor, his then-11-year-old son. Leyver and Keesha decided to try again and were married in 2018. For years the family eagerly awaited Leyver’s release, but now he is further away than ever.

Arriving in Oaxaca, Leyver is embraced by family he hasn’t seen in 26 years and immediately feels a connection for the people, place, and culture. But he also understands he is forever in between: both rejected by the US and identified as something other than Oaxacan. And despite his excitement to be out of prison, he begins to long for the restricted weekend visits with his wife and son and a growing dissatisfaction starts to bloom. Leyver wants to be a father to Victor for the first time outside of prison walls. His relationship with Keesha begins to strain in the months following his arrival, as they realize a solution to their separation is not on the horizon. And with the arrival of the pandemic, their limited options grow more limited still.

As the film follows Leyver and his family, the events of their lives and the choices they make determine the narrative. How does Leyver adjust to his new reality? Can he and his family adapt to the distance between them? Does he find a place for himself in Oaxaca? Or does he risk everything to try to return to the U.S.?

But not all of this film will be set in the present, venturing into the past to examine what led Leyver to his present circumstances. We will explore the roots of a violent young man, the trauma experienced during years in prison, and the profound transformation undertaken in a solitary cell. As we follow our subjects through the past and present, a multi-dimensional portrait will take shape demonstrating the immense complexities that exist at the intersections of some the most critical social conversations of our time: violence and accountability; incarceration and justice; rehabilitation and redemption; immigration and family separation; and a questioning of where we belong and what is home.