Who Is Dayani Cristal?

About the Project

Who Is Dayani Cristal? is a groundbreaking fusion of drama and documentary, starring Gael García Bernal, one of the most exciting actors of his generation. Telling the story of one man’s epic journey from his home in El Escanito, Honduras, to his death at the border between Mexico and the United States, the true story of the investigation into his death is intercut with a dramatized reconstruction of his fateful journey and the people he encounters along the way. We watch a small team of dedicated people on either side of the border managing to discover the identity of this anonymous body and return him home. By the end of the film, we have identified who he is, what conditions led him to embark on that journey and who and what killed him.

The film puts a human face on the debate about the busiest and most contrasting international border in the world and will explore fundamental questions about how we as a global community are going to manage global migration in this century.

The film and its related content explores the narratives behind the human rights of migrants, systemic poverty, economic development, immigration and the repatriation of remains following the recent sharp increase in anonymous migrant deaths. Dayani Cristal’s transmedia activism campaign brings together a coalition of organizations such as Amnesty International, National Council of La Raza, The Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team and a number of other organizations, with audiences to explore these issues and commit to action steps and solutions around these issues.

The Fledgling Fund Impact

The Fledgling Fund is pleased to be able to support this powerful and unique film. We believe that it will bring new audiences into the struggle for a humane immigration policy in the United States.