La Boda (The Wedding)
A film by Hannah Weyer
US, 2000, 53 minutes, Color, DVD, English, Spanish Subtitles

In an intimate portrait of migrant life along the U.S.-Mexican border, Hannah Weyer’s film LA BODA delves into the challenges faced by a community striving to maintain their roots in Mexico, while pursuing the “American Dream” across the border. Weyer’s camera follows Elizabeth Luis during the weeks before her marriage to Artemio Guerrero, interweaving the anticipation of the upcoming wedding with candid stories that explore the architecture of the Luis family. For 22-year-old Elizabeth, migrant life has meant shouldering responsibilities beyond those of an average young adult. Along with her seven siblings, she has contributed to the family income throughout her adolescence and young adulthood, often forced to sacrifice school for fieldwork and social life for travel as she and her family move between Texas, California and Mexico. LA BODA tells the timeless story of a young woman’s coming of age, while also confronting negative stereotypes of the migrant community with the real life biography of a Mexican-American family bridging the gap between countries and culture.

AWARDS, FESTIVALS, & SCREENINGS

• Human Rights Watch Film Festival
• Taos Talking Picture Film Festival
• Broadcast Nationally on PBS
• Go Girls! at Symphony Space

QUOTES

“In La Boda, promising filmmaker Hannah Weyer creates an audio-visual portrait that belongs in the extended American family album, with the story of a wedding in one migrant’s family. The family’s open generosity to Weyer is as remarkable as her skill at sketching their characters. Along with sibling affection and mother-daughter tiffs, the film takes us across borders we rarely even see: borders of class and nation, and the many borders crossed every season by the people who harvest the nation’s food. La Boda is a warm, affectionate, revealing and ultimately sobering look at the life of migrant workers, as it follows the daughter of the family through her wedding. It illuminates discussions of immigration, class, gender, culture and the economics of agriculture under globalization. It will be equally useful in American studies, sociology, and women’s studies.”
—Patricia Aufderheide, American University

“Thoroughly charming and touching…one can’t help but feel buoyed by Elizabeth’s girlish dreams and the unwavering strength of the community’s family traditions.”
—San Antonio Express News