William D. Caballero’s Sundance Award-winning TheyDream launches its U.S. theatrical release on November 13th in New York City. TheyDream is the visionary hybrid animated documentary by Caballero, a filmmaker from the Puerto Rican diaspora. It is a first-person documentary feature, a moving portrait of a diaspora family in the U.S., told through animation, miniatures, and intimate family conversations about identity, healing, and memory. Directed and written by William D. Caballero, it is co-written by Erin Ploss-Campoamor, Brad Jones, and Elaine Del Valle.
I had not seen the film during the film festivals that it was a part of this year, but upon the viewing I had, it did not take long for me to shed a tear or two, as this film captures so much about family life that so many of us will be able to relate to. I admire the time and dedication it took for the filmmaker to document the family history and, all in all, his loving tribute to his mother for all she has done to date. Many of us talk about preserving the family history and do so to some extent. Still, Caballero takes his ideas and brings them to life with the creativity he developed since his youth.
The following is a description from the press release about the artistic work Caballero used for this loving documentary, which I enjoyed from start to end. “Blending 2D and 3D animation, motion capture, handcrafted miniatures, and digital rotoscoping with intimate live-action footage, TheyDream offers a deeply personal and formally inventive exploration of family, memory, and loss. Drawing from more than two decades of personal archives, Caballero and his mother, Migdalia “Milly” Caballero, turn to artistic creation to process devastating family losses. Together, mother and son step in front of green screens and miniature sets, using animation and performance capture to bring their departed loved ones back to life on screen and give shape to their memories.”
Although I read this before the film, it did not occur to me how much emotion I would feel from watching them go through caregiving of loved ones with major health issues, and the loss of multiple elders, one by one. I was so moved to see what “Milly” had been through and then become a part of her son’s artistic work, learning that it is work indeed.
According to the press release, “The film explores cultural identity, queer self-acceptance, and intergenerational healing, celebrating the transformative power of art to preserve memories and strengthen family bonds.” It is a marvelous story told through recordings of Caballero’s grandfather, grandmother, father, and mother, moving from the past to the present, as the filmmaker has lived in Brooklyn public housing projects and rural North Carolina. The topics are varied and help him (and his mother) understand.
The film is Executive Produced by John Leguizamo alongside ITVS and Latino Public Broadcasting. It will launch its U.S. theatrical release with an exclusive New York City engagement at AMC Empire 25 starting Friday, November 13, 2026, including a special presentation at DOC NYC on Sunday, November 15. Additional U.S. cities will follow.
Awards: World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival; it earned the NEXT Special Jury Award for Creative Expression. At the Miami Film Festival, it earned the Documentary Achievement Award for Best Feature; it also received awards at the New York Latino Film Festival and the Ann Arbor Film Festival, and a Special Jury Mention for Best Feature at the Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival.
THEYDREAM. USA, 2026, 88 min. In English and Spanish with English subtitles.
Source: A co-production of Colibri Creative Media, Latino Public Broadcasting, and ITVS.