The Documentary Film Program at Berkeley Journalism invites you to a special free screening and discussion of Sansón Y Yo (Sansón and Me) presented by Represent Justice.

Host: Jennifer Redfearn/Director of the Documentary Program

During his day job as a Spanish criminal interpreter in a small town in California, filmmaker Rodrigo Reyes met a young man named Sansón, an undocumented Mexican immigrant who was sentenced to life in prison without parole. With no permission to interview him, Sansón and Reyes worked together over a decade, using hundreds of letters as inspiration for recreations of Sansón’s childhood—featuring members of Sansón’s own family. The result is a vibrant portrait of a friendship navigating immigration and the depths of the criminal justice system and pushing the boundaries of cinematic imagination to rescue a young migrant’s story from oblivion.

After the film, join Jennifer Redfearn, director of the documentary film program at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism in discussion with Director Rodrigo Reyes and Danny Murrillo, Co-Founder and Associate Director of Underground Scholars at UC Berkeley. Their discussion will focus on the intersection of immigration, mass incarceration and the transcendent power of narrative.

5:00 p.m. Reception
5:35 p.m. Film Screening
7:00 p.m. Discussion
7:30 p.m. Q&A

About Rodrigo Reyes

Rodrigo Reyes

Mexican director Rodrigo Reyes (Mexico City, 1983), makes films deeply grounded in his identity as an immigrant artist, crafting a poetic gaze from the margins, using striking imagery to portray the contradictory nature of our shared world, while revealing the potential for transformative change. He has received the support of The Mexican Film Institute (IMCINE), Sundance and Tribeca Institutes, while his films have screened on PBS and Netflix. His film “499,” won Best Cinematography at Tribeca and the Special Jury Award at Hot Docs. Rodrigo is a recipient of the prestigious Guggenheim and Creative Capital Awards, as well as the Rainin Fellowship, the SF Indie Vanguard Award and the Eureka Fellowship.

About Danny Murillo

Danny Murillo

Danny is the co-founder and associate director of Underground Scholars at the University of California, Berkeley. Most recently, he was the Smart Justice Fellow at the Michelson 20MM Foundation. In this role, Danny convened the Smart Justice Think Tank, a coalition of higher education champions and directly impacted leaders to establish California’s Best Practices that serve as a common agenda for the field governing California’s higher education in prison and supporting formerly incarcerated students on campus.