El primer día

This project is an attempt to develop a fictional Spanish narrative, resolving around one particular difficulty that many families have to cope with in our country today, namely the imprisonment of a loved one. In our story, we address and scrutinize the staggering number of imprisoned Latinos in the California correctional system, how race and affiliation negatively plays a role in the life of an inmate, and then how this constitutes to the generation of largest amount gang members throughout the entire country. El primer día is a story about the day a young man named Juan Carlos is released back into society, after having been incarcerated seven years in a state penitentiary. Growing up without a father and an immigrant mother, lead his character to search for guidance and acceptance in the wrong places, which inevitably put him behind bars. Upon his release, we see through the eyes of his mother Claudia, how this cold and callous system has taken her son she once knew so well, away to a place she never would have imagined. The short film demonstrates the harsh reality related to the negative effects of incarceration, which often receive little to know recognition in the public arena. We attempt to explore this unfortunate truth through the visual storytelling medium with the hope that viewers will find a more empathetic relationship with this ongoing problem within our society