Iliana Sosa, Filmmaker: Love, Loss, and Legacy in the Film What We Leave Behind
This week, I’m joined by Mexican American filmmaker Iliana Sosa to discuss her first feature documentary, What We Leave Behind. It’s a deeply moving portrait of her grandfather, Julian Moreno, the patriarch of her family, and serves as a beautiful tribute to his legacy.
During World War II, Julian Moreno came to the US as a seasonal agricultural worker as part of the Bracero Program, later returning to his home in Mexico to start a family. Sadly, Julian was widowed at an early age with seven children to raise. Iliana’s mother was the first of his children to immigrate to the US, leaving Mexico at the age of 14 to go to El Paso, where she eventually met Iliana’s father. In the subsequent years, Iliana’s grandfather frequently took the bus from his home in Durango, Mexico to Iliana’s home in El Paso, then on to Albuquerque to visit other relatives. His visits were always brief so that he could return home to care for his adult son with a disability.
Iliana’s initial plan was to make a documentary film about her grandfather’s time as a bracero, but as in many documentaries, the story takes a twist. The film chronicles his journey of constructing a house in Mexico at the age of 89, and the larger message of what that project meant for him and his family.
Listen to the episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Castbox, or on your favorite podcast platform.
Topics Covered:
● A brief synopsis of What We Leave Behind and why Iliana pursued this project
● How Iliana’s relationship with her grandfather changed over the course of filming
● Coming to terms with aging and things left undone at the end of your life
● The importance of family connection, particularly one with members on both sides of the US-Mexico border
● How capturing everyday life naturally crafted the storyline and portrait of Iliana’s grandfather
Guest Info:
● Watch What We Leave Behind on Netflix
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