William D. Caballero’s (2021 Creative Capital Awardee) hybrid animated film, TheyDream, is a deeply personal autobiographical documentary that traces how art can become a lifeline in the wake of loss. Drawing on two decades of mixed-media filmmaking, Caballero revisits his family’s history in Fayetteville, North Carolina—interweaving new 2D and 3D animations with live-action vérité, archival materials, and raw, deeply human conversations with his mother.

Anchored in the death of his grandmother Isolina, the film follows Caballero’s mother as she spirals into grief and self-blame for not being at her mother’s side in her final moments. Rather than allowing her to retreat, Caballero hands her a camera and the tools of animation—inviting her to collaborate in bringing her mother back to life. Viewers witness her trembling first attempts to animate, the tears she sheds while performing in front of a green screen and recreating her mother’s voicemails, and the unexpected reawakening of her artistic power.

Through a one-of-a-kind blend of miniature artistry, handcrafted figurines, digital rotoscoping, and full 3D motion capture, Caballero and his mother literally transform themselves into their ancestors—reanimating family stories with honesty, complexity, and profound love.