Mexico City-born filmmaker Rodrigo Reyes’s feature documentary project, Sansón and Me, began with the artist’s day job working as a Spanish Interpreter in the California Courts. Many years ago, Rodrigo worked on his first murder trial involving a young Latino defendant named Sansón and the two became friends after the jury convicted Sansón to life without parole.

Pushing the boundaries of creative nonfiction, Sansón and Me incorporates interviews and recreations based on hundreds of pages of letters exchanged with Sansón, while also inviting the participation of his own family as actors helping to retell and recenter his story. The result is a compelling portrait of how Sansón’s life intersects with the larger, systemic failures of immigration, lack of opportunity and the criminal justice complex.