Filmmaker and former punk artist Mabel Valdiviezo reunites with her family in Peru after 16 years of silence, confronting haunting childhood memories and a troubled past as an undocumented immigrant in the United States.
Filmmaker and artist Mabel Valdiviezo makes a soul-stirring journey to reunite with her family in Peru after 16 years of estrangement, in this cinematic exploration of family, belonging, and the transformative power of art. Brimming with yearning, Mabel returns home, only to confront a whirlwind of emotions as old wounds are reopened. Her mother's perception of her absence adds to the complexity, leading to Mabel's heartfelt confession of her troubled past, marked by addiction and turmoil, as an immigrant in San Francisco. Offering intimate access to the artist and her vibrant photo-paintings of the family, Prodigal Daughter gives audiences a slice of life that challenges the prevailing narrative of “good immigrant” versus “bad immigrant.”
Mabel Valdiviezo is an award-winning non-binary indigenous Latine filmmaker, editor, multidisciplinary artist, and alumna of the Sundance Producers Conference. Utilizing a poetic vocabulary, her work explores migration, gender equality, and healing justice. Valdiviezo is a Gotham Documentary Lab fellow, and her work has been supported by IDA’s Nonfiction Access Initiative, AXS Film Fund, BGDM, NALIP, BAVC, and the San Francisco Arts Commission. Her 2024 feature documentary, Prodigal Daughter, is a personal film that follows her reconnection with her family in Peru after 16 years of estrangement and is currently on the festival circuit. Her film credits include Carlos Baron, Poeta Pan, documentary short, PBS/KQED (director/producer), The Water’s Muse, experimental short (director/producer), Sands of Silence, feature documentary, PBS World (associate producer), River Webs, PBS (feature doc editor), and Women with Altitude, (feature doc editor). Her narrative film Soledad Is Gone Forever premiered at Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival and received the Women in Film Emerging Filmmaker Award. Her script, Soledad’s Awakening, was a finalist at the Sundance Screenwriters Lab. Valdiviezo is a member of UFC, BGDM, FWD-Doc, and NALIP.
Premiere - Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival 2024
Middlebury New Filmmakers Fest 2024
Virginia Film Festival 2024
CineMas+ San Francisco Latino Film Festival 2024
CineFest Latino Boston 2024
Director / Producer / Editor - Mabel Valdiviezo
Editor / Co-producer - Sara Maamouri
Editor - Maria Zeiss
Associate Producer - Chelo Alvarez-Stehle
