Directing

Rodrigo Reyes

Born 1983-07-22 · Mexico City, Mexico

Rodrigo Reyes is a Mexican film director currently residing in the United States. He is best known for the film 499, which had its premiere at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival. In 2017, Reyes received the Spotlight on Storytellers Award from Sundance Institute.

Acting credits

Behind the camera

Dear Fatima poster
NR

A decade after the murder of her daughter Fátima at the age of 12, the victim of a brutal femicide, Lorena Gutiérrez takes a stand outside the National Palace to demand a meeting with Mexico’s first woman President.

Dear Fatima

2026

Dear Fatima poster
NR

A decade after the murder of her daughter Fátima at the age of 12, the victim of a brutal femicide, Lorena Gutiérrez takes a stand outside the National Palace to demand a meeting with Mexico’s first woman President.

Dear Fatima

2026

Sansón and Me poster
NR

Borders have defined Sansón’s life. There’s the physical and psychological border between Mexico and the US. And now, looking at a life behind bars, there’s the one that separates him from his loved ones. Since it is forbidden to film inside the jail, Reyes recreates Sansón’s life – with the help of his family – through letters and by casting an untrained actor to play his friend. The resulting film is a reflection on migration, the notion of family, what it means to see one’s life on film, and the harshness and injustice of the US prison system.

Sansón and Me

2023

Sansón and Me poster
NR

Borders have defined Sansón’s life. There’s the physical and psychological border between Mexico and the US. And now, looking at a life behind bars, there’s the one that separates him from his loved ones. Since it is forbidden to film inside the jail, Reyes recreates Sansón’s life – with the help of his family – through letters and by casting an untrained actor to play his friend. The resulting film is a reflection on migration, the notion of family, what it means to see one’s life on film, and the harshness and injustice of the US prison system.

Sansón and Me

2023

Purgatorio: A Journey Into the Heart of the Border poster
6.0

A deeply human portrait of the chaotic reality of the US - Mexico border. Full of stunnig images and crafted like a classic city-symphony where the sum of the pieces add up to a larger whole, Purgatorio, a Journey Into the Heart of the Border brings together a universe of small stories to create a compelling and visceral cinematic experience that takes audiences into the very soul of life on the border.

Purgatorio: A Journey Into the Heart of the Border

2013

Purgatorio: A Journey Into the Heart of the Border poster
6.0

A deeply human portrait of the chaotic reality of the US - Mexico border. Full of stunnig images and crafted like a classic city-symphony where the sum of the pieces add up to a larger whole, Purgatorio, a Journey Into the Heart of the Border brings together a universe of small stories to create a compelling and visceral cinematic experience that takes audiences into the very soul of life on the border.

Purgatorio: A Journey Into the Heart of the Border

2013

Purgatorio: A Journey Into the Heart of the Border poster
6.0

A deeply human portrait of the chaotic reality of the US - Mexico border. Full of stunnig images and crafted like a classic city-symphony where the sum of the pieces add up to a larger whole, Purgatorio, a Journey Into the Heart of the Border brings together a universe of small stories to create a compelling and visceral cinematic experience that takes audiences into the very soul of life on the border.

Purgatorio: A Journey Into the Heart of the Border

2013

Abuelos poster
NR

The separation of families on the US/Mexico border is profoundly depicted as a young girl dreams of being reunited with her grandmother.

Abuelos

2020

Abuelos poster
NR

The separation of families on the US/Mexico border is profoundly depicted as a young girl dreams of being reunited with her grandmother.

Abuelos

2020

Abuelos poster
NR

The separation of families on the US/Mexico border is profoundly depicted as a young girl dreams of being reunited with her grandmother.

Abuelos

2020

499 poster
4.0

Upon the 500-year anniversary of the Spanish Conquest, a ghostly Conquistador arrives in modern Mexico. As he journeys toward the capital city, he remembers events from his past while encountering the testimonies of real people, the survivors of contemporary violence. History and the present begin to merge, giving nightmarish reflection on the enduring legacy of colonialism in our world today.

499

2021

499 poster
4.0

Upon the 500-year anniversary of the Spanish Conquest, a ghostly Conquistador arrives in modern Mexico. As he journeys toward the capital city, he remembers events from his past while encountering the testimonies of real people, the survivors of contemporary violence. History and the present begin to merge, giving nightmarish reflection on the enduring legacy of colonialism in our world today.

499

2021

Lupe Under the Sun poster
5.0

The story of an aging Mexican migrant who spent his entire life working in the California fields, separated from his family back home. A melancholy alcoholic, one morning he realizes life has rolled past him and he has nothing to show for it. Lupe embarks on existential journey, trying to come to terms with his choices and reconnect with what he left behind.

Lupe Under the Sun

2016

Lupe Under the Sun poster
5.0

The story of an aging Mexican migrant who spent his entire life working in the California fields, separated from his family back home. A melancholy alcoholic, one morning he realizes life has rolled past him and he has nothing to show for it. Lupe embarks on existential journey, trying to come to terms with his choices and reconnect with what he left behind.

Lupe Under the Sun

2016

Memories of the Future poster
NR

A woman writes increasingly passionate love letters without answer. Her passion and frustration are interwoven with a sense of impending doom, a vision of the coming Mexican apocalypse. A single personal tragedy mirrors the struggle of an entire country trying, in the midst of increasing chaos, to find itself. Shot during months on the backroads of Mexico, director Rodrigo Reyes has crafted an idiosyncratic and visceral x-ray of his homeland.

Memories of the Future

2012

After the Raid poster
5.5

A large immigration raid in a small Tennessee town leaves emotional fallout as well as far-reaching questions about justice, faith and humanity.

After the Raid

2019

After the Raid poster
5.5

A large immigration raid in a small Tennessee town leaves emotional fallout as well as far-reaching questions about justice, faith and humanity.

After the Raid

2019