CiNEOLA Shorts: Serenata de protesta

Filmmakers Susana Canales Barrón, Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck, Brenda Avila Hanna, and Megan Martinez-Goetz in person for a Q&A after the screening!

CiNEOLA returns to the Roxie Theater with a short film program, Serenata de Protesta, reflecting on the Latin American diaspora and the experiences of Latine communities in California. From the North Bay, to Salinas Valley, Serenata de protesta portrays the nuanced, emotional experiences of migrant workers, jornaleros and campesinos. Daydreaming alongside the lyrical imagery of the land and those who tend to it, each documentary film shares the dreams and longing of migrant workers with an understanding of their essential role in California’s agriculture and beyond. At the heart of Serenata de protesta are dreams, power, and music. All films are in Spanish with English subtitles. Co-Presented by RoxCine and Watsonville Film Festival.

The Long Valley
(Robert Machoian, Rodrigo Ojeda-Beck, 13 minutes, USA, 2025)
Documenting the people and landscapes of the Salinas Valley, one of the most productive
agricultural regions in California.

$40 Billion
(Susana Canales Barrón, 11 minutes, USA, 2022-2025)
As the California wine industry adapts to climate change, farmworkers risk their lives to keep up
with production.

Primero, Sueño
(Andrés Lira, 17 minutes, USA, 2023)
An insight into the lives of undocumented farmworkers in America and their experiences with
migration, exploitation, and poverty.
Content Warning: This film contains sensitive stories related to the journey of migration and the harsh realities of labor in agricultural settings

Los Nuevos Canarios
(Brenda Avila Hanna, Megan Martinez-Goltz, 21 minutes, USA, 2024)
A resilient farmworker community in California’s Central Coast, bound by shared struggles, empowers itself to defend its health and the land, sparking a movement for environmental and labor justice.

Trokas Duras
(Jazmin Garcia, 17 minutes, USA, 2025)
Journeying through the interior landscapes of a Jornalero’s dreams, his waking reality in Los Angeles, and what it looks like when a group of people relegated to serving others labors for their own elevation of body and spirit. 
Winner of the Short Film Jury Award for US Fiction at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.