February 05, 2010 12:00PM EST

Case Study: Entre Nos

When I set out to write about Entre Nos, a film I think everyone should see, I was haunted by a conversation I had a few weeks ago with a woman I really don’t know very well at all. Let’s call her Christina: she is in her 30s, married with 2 small children, and she came from Mexico with her husband some years ago. Christina lives near me and cleans houses for a living; her husband does construction work, and had a job working on jobs through Columbia University until three months ago, when his work dried up. Christina’s baby is about 6 months old and she worked throughout her entire pregnancy—hard, physical work. I remember I saw her a week away from her delivery date trudging to a job she could not afford not to do, no matter how tired she was.

The conversation that haunts me is the day we talked about her family in Mexico. She spoke about her husband, trying to find work everywhere, and how years ago before the kids they could think about going back, although her mother is now dead so it wouldn’t be the same. She said that they had to stay now, because here her kids would have a better chance, and that above all she didn’t want her kids to become like her: working to pay the rent, put food on the table, and little more. Of course I understood what she meant about wanting her kids to have better opportunities, but it was so very sad to have someone I see as such a loving, hard-working mother who delights in her children feel that she was not the role model they should have. At the end of our conversation she thanked me for talking with her and for listening, and I got on the subway and looked at other women on the train, kids in tow, looking so tired and yet determined, trying to find a way to give their kids what they never had.



Later that day at work, as I was emailing about the evening we are planning at the New School, I thought about the characters in the poignant feature film Entre Nos, which premiered at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival. In the film, codirectors Paola Mendoza and Gloria La Morte so beautifully bring to life (in a dramatically understated way) the story of another mother, Marianna, who comes to Queens from Colombia, only to have her husband abandon her and her two children. What makes this film so wonderful is that it is based on a true story, and so it is told from the heart. What makes it astounding is that Paola and Gloria made it for next to nothing.

Paola and Gloria took part in the 2008 Tribeca All Access program through TFI. Through connections they made by participating in TAA, Paola and Gloria received financial support from Indepix and Cinereach and were able to access equipment through the On Track program of TAA.
 
On February 16, Tribeca Film Institute is partnering with the New School to present a Case Study of Entre Nos. Paola and Gloria will be there to talk about the process of getting this film made, and they will be showing clips as well. The event is free.  I urge you to join us on this very special evening.

---

Case Study of Entre Nos
Tuesday February 16, 8:00 pm
The New School Auditorium—Alvin Johnson/J.M. Kaplan Hall
66 West 12th Street
No tickets or reservation required.

For more info, check out the Tribeca Film Institute website.

Eileen Newman is the Managing Director of the Tribeca Film Institute.

* Tribeca All Access is a program that promotes directors and screenwriters from diverse backgrounds by matching them with potential investors in one-on-one meetings during the Tribeca Film Festival. Year-round, TAA supports filmakers in the field by offering use of free digital filmmaking and editing equipment; providing promotional support for completed films; and hosting work-in-progress screenings, educational workshops and fellowships.