Congratulations to Cristina Ibarra (dir. LAS MARTHAS) for being named a 2021 MacArthur Fellow! The MacArthur fellowship recognizes talented individuals who have shown extraordinary originality and dedication in their creative pursuits and a marked capacity for self-direction. Managing Director of MacArthur Fellows Cecilia Conrad shares that this class of fellows “help us reimage what’s possible. They demonstrate that creativity has no boundaries. It happens in all fields of endeavor.”
Ibarra is a documentary filmmaker crafting nuanced and compelling narratives about Latino families living in borderland communities. Drawing from her personal experience growing up on the Texas-Mexico border, her films depict intergenerational life, displacement, labor struggles, and community violence, often from the perspective of Chicana and Latina youth.
WMM is proud to distribute her film LAS MARTHAS, which follows two young women as they prepare for an annual debutante ball, and rite of passage, in Laredo, Texas. The film is a beautifully drawn, and sometimes humorous, coming of age portrait of the two women as they navigate this complex tradition in a time of economic uncertainty and political tension over immigration and border relations between the U.S. and Mexico.
LAS MARTHAS is available to purchase, book for screenings, and to watch on Kanopy.
Cristina Ibarra, Documentary Filmmaker | 2021 MacArthur Fellow
