Disrupted Borders
2021
Synopsis:

Wendy is an aspiring engineer who tinkers using parts from discarded electronics in hopes of making a 3D printed prosthesis for her best friend Shelly, an artist with double limb deficiencies. These young Mexican-American women reinvent cultural, gender, and ability norms against a turbulent backdrop of the border recently scarred by racist policies and attacks.

Filmmakers:
Alejandra Aragón

Alejandra Aragón is from Ciudad Juárez, México and holds a degree in Visual Arts and Business from the UACJ. She was part of the Photography Production Seminar of the Image Center in México City in 2017. In 2018 she participated in several group exhibitions throughout Mexico, South and North America and Germany. Her documentary film Las Noches Invisibles was part of the Ambulante Film Festival in 2018. She was awarded the FONCA 2019 grant. Her work explores how the territory determines the experience and identities of the border regions from a trans-feminist de-colonial stance.

Cathy Chen

Cathy Chen is the co-founder and director of Fab Lab, a digital design and fabrication learning hub. She advocates for socialization and democratization of technology through grassroots initiatives in education, creative economies, and social innovation. She holds a Bachelors in Literature and Critical Theory from Duke University and a Masters in Media Design from Keio University in Japan. She received the 2019 Innovation Award from The Hub of Human Innovation and 2016 Chevron Educator Award. Cathy serves on the Public Arts Committee for the City of El Paso and on the advisory board for El Paso Museum of Art.

Ramón Villa Hernandez

Ramón Villa Hernandez has produced/directed short films for web-series; Only in El Paso, part of PBS Digital Studios and local PBS affiliate KCOS-13. His films explore topics such as identity, cultura, and the paranormal. In 2016, he started teaching digital media production at the University of Texas at El Paso. Local arts organization, MCAD, has awarded Ramón funds to offer filmmaking workshops in low-income housing communities. In 2018, MCAD awarded his short film; Juana Doe, production funds and the Austin Film Society awarded it post-production funds.