TOTE_Grandfather

Streaming video - 2019

This film portrays an unexpected encounter between an old Tzotzil man, who is going blind, and his granddaughter, who does not remember her childhood well. The granddaughter, having grown up in the city estranged from her grandparents, returns to visit her grandfather’s village. While he weaves a traditional hat, the threads of family history unwind and are rewoven. In between silences and unspoken words, the renewed possibility of understanding the meaning of "love" in Tzotzil opens up. This quiet story of intergenerational reconciliation within an indigenous Mexican community speaks to universal themes of love, gendered violence and forgiveness.