Samantha Ramirez-Herrera

At age 7, Sam Ramirez-Herrera left Mexico chasing the American Dream. Now a filmmaker and DACA recipient, she returns after 30 years to confront family, memory, and identity, in a journey framed by Día de Muertos and the meaning of home.

At Age 7, Sam Ramirez-Herrera left Mexico with her family in pursuit of the American Dream. Now a filmmaker, DACA recipient and advocate for undocumented immigrants in the U.S., Sam, like so many other "Dreamers," finds herself caught between two nations-fully belonging to none. On the eve of Dia De Los Muertos, she is offered the opportunity to return to Mexico after 30 years away. Leaving the U.S. for the first time, Sam embarks on a journey to reconnect with her past and convene with her Mexican family, both living and dead. As her trip stirs traumas on both sides of the border, her homecoming reveals to her the great cost of her decades old crossing and upends her conception of the American Dream she's spent her life fighting to achieve. Against the vibrant visual backdrop of Mexico's Day Of The Dead, "El Regreso" explores rebirth through the lens of one dreamer's awakening.

Hoʻolono, meaning “to listen deeply,” is a cinematic act of listening and an exploration of return, responsibility, and our evolving relationship to land and self. Hoʻolono is an invitation to listen deeply, to remember that the path through ecological crisis may also be a path back to ourselves.

At age 7, Sam Ramirez-Herrera left Mexico chasing the American Dream. Now a filmmaker and DACA recipient, she returns after 30 years to confront family, memory, and identity, in a journey framed by Día de Muertos and the meaning of home.

At Age 7, Sam Ramirez-Herrera left Mexico with her family in pursuit of the American Dream. Now a filmmaker, DACA recipient and advocate for undocumented immigrants in the U.S., Sam, like so many other "Dreamers," finds herself caught between two nations-fully belonging to none. On the eve of Dia De Los Muertos, she is offered the opportunity to return to Mexico after 30 years away. Leaving the U.S. for the first time, Sam embarks on a journey to reconnect with her past and convene with her Mexican family, both living and dead. As her trip stirs traumas on both sides of the border, her homecoming reveals to her the great cost of her decades old crossing and upends her conception of the American Dream she's spent her life fighting to achieve. Against the vibrant visual backdrop of Mexico's Day Of The Dead, "El Regreso" explores rebirth through the lens of one dreamer's awakening.

At Age 7, Sam Ramirez-Herrera left Mexico with her family in pursuit of the American Dream. Now a filmmaker, DACA recipient and advocate for undocumented immigrants in the U.S., Sam, like so many other "Dreamers," finds herself caught between two nations-fully belonging to none. On the eve of Dia De Los Muertos, she is offered the opportunity to return to Mexico after 30 years away. Leaving the U.S. for the first time, Sam embarks on a journey to reconnect with her past and convene with her Mexican family, both living and dead. As her trip stirs traumas on both sides of the border, her homecoming reveals to her the great cost of her decades old crossing and upends her conception of the American Dream she's spent her life fighting to achieve. Against the vibrant visual backdrop of Mexico's Day Of The Dead, "El Regreso" explores rebirth through the lens of one dreamer's awakening.

Hoʻolono, meaning “to listen deeply,” is a cinematic act of listening and an exploration of return, responsibility, and our evolving relationship to land and self. Hoʻolono is an invitation to listen deeply, to remember that the path through ecological crisis may also be a path back to ourselves.

Hoʻolono, meaning “to listen deeply,” is a cinematic act of listening and an exploration of return, responsibility, and our evolving relationship to land and self. Hoʻolono is an invitation to listen deeply, to remember that the path through ecological crisis may also be a path back to ourselves.