In a context where the biological past remains, but the cultural past tends to be forgotten—particularly everything that came before us and had to intertwine so that we could arrive, along with the ancestral legacy—I have decided to create this documentary to honor the memory of those who came before me, both the ones I knew and the ones I didn’t. Through the gaze of my maternal grandmother, my closeness with her, and her family tree, I narrate this encounter. Raíces (Roots) is a project I plan to release in 2028. In the meantime, we continue building the story and the vision, reaching out to each family member I can connect with, so they may become part of this cinematic gathering.
As his family disperses across the world, an Afro-Ecuadorian filmmaker returns to the roots of his lineage to reconstruct his grandparents’ memory and discover what remains of us when our homeland is left behind.
Director: Jhonny Sánchez Obando.
Producer: Cheo Poggy.
Countries: Ecuador/Colombia/United States.
Running time: 60 Minutes.
Status: In Develop.
Official Selection: Filma Afro/Cine en Las Aldeas: Cartagena International Film Festival, 2026. Colombia.