A forensic anthropologist discovers her supernatural abilities when working with unidentifiable remains of migrants.

Interview with Writer/Director: Ramón Villa-Hernández

Congratulations! Why are you making your film?

This film is in development/pre-production. I will tell the story of a 1st generation Mexican-American female scientist who reconnects with her culture through the skeletal remains of immigrants she finds in mass graves.

Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?

This film will shed some light on what forensic anthropologists have to do to help grieving families reconnect with lost loved ones.

How do personal and universal themes work in your film?

Death, as a personal theme, will address the closure that some people get because of citizenship.

Science, as a universal theme, will address the state of affairs we are in today when developing a DNA database for dead unidentifiable immigrants that can be shared with countries around the world.

How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?

The idea developed into a short script that we turned into a visual storyboard you can view below:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCcGZcEAOn8&t=5s

From that draft video storyboard, we have developed a stronger character arc for the short film we will be shooting early next year.

What type of feedback have you received so far?

We have been attracting a handful of creative people that we will meet and discuss the collaborative process once we finish our fundraising campaign on Seed & Spark. Feedback from these creative artists has been incredible and their interest in wanting to help us produce our story.

Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?

I didn’t expect for so many creative people to want to work on this kind of project, one that discusses immigrant lives and forensic science on the U.S/Mexican border.

Behind the scenes - Juana Doe calling for help while lost in the desert.

What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?

I want to share the space with other film artists who must work in marginalized sections of the industry to tell and share our stories. This space creates a home base that I want to share with others.

Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?

We need more donors on our campaign to reach our goal to start production.

http://www.seedandspark.com/fund/juanadoe

What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?

We want to be able to show our film around the world at different film festivals and then have a Q&A about the state of affairs we are in.

What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?

Immigrant skeletal remains and how do we collect the DNA data to share with grieving families.

Would you like to add anything else?

Please help spread the word about our fundraising campaign. If we don’t make our goal, we can’t make our film.

Jorge tries to convince Malena to cremate Juana's skeletal remains

What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?

Currently, Ramon Villa (writer/director) is working on a short documentary on UFO sightings in El Paso, Tx for PBS Digital Studios and KCOS-TV.

Currently, Jennifer Lucero (producer) works as a freelance multi-media producer in her home city

Interview: November 2017

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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela

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Juana Doe

A forensic anthropologist discovers her supernatural abilities when working with unidentifiable remains of migrants.

Length: 15 minutes.

Writer/Director:

Ramón Villa-Hernández is an El Paso based multi-talented film artist/musician/lecturer. For the past 2 years, Mr. Villa has been teaching various aspects of media production at the University of Texas at El Paso.

Producer: Jennifer Lucero

Lucero is a multimedia artist and activist who uses video production to create insightful interactions among communities. Graduated from the University of Texas at El Paso in Electronic Media Journalism and Women’s Studies, Lucero was determined to focus on crucial and diverse human experiences to be heard.

Key cast: Have not casted yet.

Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists):

Donors who want a tax-deductible incentive. Journalists to talk about the themes of the film.

Social media handles:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/JuanaDoeFilm/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/juanadoefilm

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/juanadoefilm/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMGkLG9ort4sdlgG3Y0rurw

Made in association with:

http://www.thefilmcollaborative.org/fiscalsponsorship/projects/juanadoe

The Film Collaborative is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Where will the film screen in the next month?