JUSTICE MATTERS

Mountains

Director/Writer: Monica Sorelle; Producer/Writer: Robert Colom
USA, 2023
95 minutes, Color
Official website

In Person: Director/Writer Monica Sorelle and Producer/Writer Robert Colom

Xavier is a thoughtful and steadfast husband, father, and wage earner in an immigrant working-class family in Miami's Little Haiti who wants to buy a bigger house for his family. Ironically, Xavier works for a company (and a racist boss) that demolishes homes, and he is ultimately troubled that the developments could displace residents like himself. Esperance, his good-natured wife, works as a crossing guard, sews clothes to earn extra money for the family, and seems okay with their present house. They don't understand but still love their son, the U.S.-bred Junior, who aspires to be a stand-up comic—an inexplicable career to his parents. This warm and delightful multi-award winner explores generational divides in immigrant families and the sounds of "back home" conflicts between different communities in Miami and gentrification. It's full of color, and the characters feel and sound like real people. It's a gem.—Cornelius Moore

In Haitian Creole, English, and Spanish with English subtitles