Isabel Castro is a Mexican-American filmmaker who aims to shine a light on civil rights injustice and into the hidden corners of the immigrant experience in America.

Isabel directed, produced, and lensed the documentary short USA v Scott (Tribeca 2020, The New Yorker) a film that explores the legality and ethics of humanitarian aid for migrants, Emmy-nominated Darlin (Tribeca 2019, NYT OpDocs), which follows a Honduran family in the months after their separation under the zero tolerance policy; and the Netflix docu-series Pandemic. Her directorial debut Crossing Over (Univison/Participant Media), about transgender asylum seekers, won a 2015 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Documentary.

Castro has worked as a multimedia journalist for The New York Times, as a producer on an Edward M. Murrow Award-winning series at The Marshall Project, on two seasons of the Emmy-award winning series VICE on HBO, and as an Emmy-nominated producer covering civil rights and policy at VICE News Tonight on HBO. She is an Artist-in-Residence at Concordia Studio and an SFFILM/Catapult Fund Fellow.

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ABOUT MIJA

Doris Muñoz is an ambitious music manager whose undocumented family depends on her ability to discover aspiring pop stars. At just 26, she has already launched multiple Chicanx musicians, carving out space for her culture within a turbulent industry. Mija dives into the world of a young woman hustling harder than anyone else, because for Doris and her family, “making it” isn't just a dream—it's a necessity.

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Film

MIJA

Program Affiliation

Documentary Lab

Cohort Year

2020-2022

Website

tertuliapictures.com