Si Pudiera Quedarme / If I Could Stay is a heart-wrenching and inspiring story of two undocumented Latinx mothers who go to dramatic lengths to fend off deportation and separation from their families in the United States.
The film follows five years in the lives of Jeanette and Ingrid, both of whom have chosen to enter sanctuary at local churches, rather than report to ICE to be deported. In the film, we witness these two mothers organizing and activating the mainly white faith communities who are grappling with the idea of how to put their power, privilege, and faith into action to support their undocumented sanctuary guests. A call to action and a powerful reminder that providing sanctuary is not just an act of charity, but a crucial act of social justice.
There will be a post-screening discussion featuring filmmaker Theo Rigby, with Dora Rodriguez and Leslie Carlson.
Theo Rigby is a San Francisco-based director, cinematographer and interactive storyteller whose work has focused on the immigrant experience in the U.S. for over a decade. Previous projects include WAKING DREAM, a six-part series following a diverse cast of young undocumented people with DACA permits; IMMIGRANT NATION, a series of short films about immigration in the U.S. including THE CARETAKER, THE MAYOR and MARATHON as well as an online storytelling platform and series of live storytelling events; and SIN PAÍS/WITHOUT COUNTRY, which won a Student Academy Award, and was nationally broadcast on POV in 2012.
Dora Rodriguez In a life-saving attempt to flee El Salvador’s civil war in 1980, Dora was one of thirteen survivors found near death while crossing the border through the Sonoran Desert. She went on to establish Salvavision, a Tucson-based non-profit that provides support to asylum seekers and those who have been deported. She is also the author of the 2025 memoir, Dora: A Daughter of Unforgiving Terrain.
Leslie Carlson has lived and worked in Tucson since 1972 and is a member of Southside Presbyterian Church. She volunteered for the 1980s Sanctuary movement as well as the present-day Sanctuary movement and is active in community-based organizations that work for immigration justice.
Presented by DocScapes.
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