Filmmaker and former punk artist Mabel Valdiviezo reunites with her family in Peru after 16 years of silence, confronting haunting childhood memories, her youth in war-torn Peru, and a troubled past as an undocumented immigrant in the United States.
Blending intimate vérité scenes with her vibrant photo-paintings and youthful animation, Prodigal Daughter explores gendered migration, belonging, identity, family relationships, mental health, and the transformative power of art.
As a woman artist grappling with the choices she was forced to make, the film challenges the “good immigrant” versus “bad immigrant” narrative, revealing a nuanced and complex perspective on migration and diaspora.
Topics:
• Migration and Diaspora Studies
• Ethnic Studies
• Latin American and Latinx Studies
• Women and Gender Studies
• Mental Health and Psychology
• Art Therapy and Creative Arts in Healing
• Sociology and Anthropology
Through the filmmaker’s personal journey, the film explores:
• The immigrant experience and the complexities of belonging
• The realities faced by immigrant women navigating survival, agency, and stigma across borders
• The emotional and cultural challenges of returning home to reconnect with family and homeland
• How trauma and silence are transmitted within Latino families
• Immigrant mental health and the role of art as both therapy and testimony
• Intergenerational healing through forgiveness and reconciliation
• Historical memory, youth artivism, and Peruvian counterculture
• Latin America's struggles against authoritarianism and the forms of violence that drive displacement and migration.