My Family

The film’s narrator and the eldest son who guides the audience through his family’s migration and evolution. He witnesses the sacrifices, dangers, and small triumphs that define three generations, serving as a bridge between past and present. His perspective anchors the story’s emotional arc and its memory-driven tone.

The family’s patriarch, who undertakes a year-long journey on foot from Mexico to Los Angeles to seek a better life. He helps found a corn farm with the distant relative El Californio and bears the weight of keeping the family together through hardship. His decisions set the course for generations of immigrant struggle and resilience.

An American citizen who marries José and faces deportation in a mass roundup, only to return to Los Angeles two years later with their new son Chucho. Her perseverance embodies the complexities of cross-border family life. Her resilience helps anchor the family’s sense of home.

A younger version of María who embodies hope and determination as the family navigates a challenging borderland existence. Her experiences foreshadow the enduring ties between homeland and home in the later generations.

The middle son whose life is marked by a violent confrontation, becoming a fugitive after killing a rival in a knife fight. He is shot by the LAPD, a tragedy that casts a long shadow over the family and accelerates its cycles of loss and resilience.

The younger son who inherits a volatile legacy, becomes a fugitive after Chucho’s death, and later attempts to remake his life. He marries Isabel to help her stay in the U.S., and raises his son Carlitos, seeking a path toward stability and belonging.

Daughter of Jose and Maria, once a nun who leaves the religious life and marries David Ronconi. She becomes involved with helping political refugees, linking faith, family, and activism in a bid to protect those in danger.

A priest who marries Toni and joins her in refugee advocacy. He supports the family’s efforts to shelter and assist vulnerable migrants during a period of political upheaval.

A Salvadoran refugee who becomes Jimmy’s wife to secure her stay in the U.S. She forms a fragile, loving bond with Jimmy, and her death after childbirth dramatically alters the family’s trajectory as they contend with loss and memory.

Memo’s fiancée from Bel-Air, whose engagement highlights cross-class and cross-cultural tensions within the extended family. She introduces the collision of privileged and immigrant experiences that the Sanchez clan navigates.

The middle son who distances himself from his Mexican roots, pursuing higher education and a professional career. He becomes engaged to Karen and embodies the tension between assimilation and heritage as the family intersects with Bel-Air circles.