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La Gloria

J.T. Walker
United States, 2025, 100 min.

In English and Spanish with English subtitles.
This film is family friendly.

AIFF Award Winner:
Best First Feature

An embittered Texas border rancher (David Morse) mistakenly shoots a young, pregnant migrant woman (Jaklyn Bejarano) as she crosses his property. Threatened with investigation, the rancher must decide whether to help the migrant woman and risk discovery by his son, a U.S. Border Patrol agent (Bill Heck).

Director's Statement

I spent my childhood summers on my grandparents’ ranch on the Texas-Mexico border. Today, cross-border immigration has become fraught in a way it never was for my grandparents. “Illegal aliens,” “patriots,” “wetbacks,” “racists.” What’s lost here are the individuals. La Gloria is the story of two people, forced by circumstance to confront each other — as individuals rather than abstractions. In their journey, they transcend their differences, growing to understand, respect, and even love the "other.” My hope is that the film will encourage us to truly see one another — just as its characters ultimately do.

Category: Drama, Award Winner.
Themes: Border, Immigration, Human Spirit.

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