This year, I was able to watch only one documentary, but I am certainly happy that Mija is that film. This United States entry tells the story of Doris Munoz, an ambitious and hard-working music talent manager, who, at the beginning of the film, has achieved some success managing successful Latinx artist Cuco. And while things are initially great with her career, her family life can be rather distressing and sad. Doris’ undocumented immigrant parents have struggled for years to attain legal residency in the U.S. In addition, Doris’ older brother has remained trapped in Mexico for some time following his deportation.
Munoz juggles her intensely busy career, while assisting her parents and brother with both money and help with their immigration problems. Munoz doesn’t have to worry about being deported because she is the only member of the family who was actually born on U.S. soil. Still, when the COVID-19 pandemic spreads rapidly across the world, Doris’ career takes a nosedive. With her work on hiatus indefinitely, the once determined, aspiring music mogul gets sidelined, which makes things more difficult when it comes to helping her family. As things start to get better, the outlook on her life and career grows hopeful. This is especially true when she discovers a new Latinx talent in the form of singer Jacks Haupt.
Written and directed by filmmaker/journalist Isabel Castro, Mija proves to be an emotionally powerful movie about the struggles of immigrants and their citizen children. Castro does an exceptional job of telling Doris Munoz’s story, but also presents another glimpse into the the life and troubles of aspiring/starving artist Jacks Haupt, whose parents are also in the United States illegally. Knowing that their loved ones could be deported and taken from them any day leads to many emotions, including guilt. This is especially true when a child has grown up and wishes to pursue his or her own path in life.
Castro’s film is a lovely example of powerful documentary filmmaking that is often heartbreaking, but still offers some beautiful rays of hope and happiness. It is a wonderful film that I must highly recommend once it gets released. Mija has been picked up by Disney, so I am sure it will reach the masses in the, hopefully, near future.