The Garden We Dreamed
A Haitian family migrating through Mexico becomes entangled in illegal logging. Amid fleeting stability and the forest’s quiet beauty, they confront violence, survival, and destruction, testing their hope for a place to call home.
Director Joaquín Del Paso scheduled to attend.
Tickets
Select showtime for pricing and tickets.
Saturday, May 9, 2026
- Limited Availability
- On Standby
- Matinee
Sunday, May 10, 2026
- Limited Availability
- On Standby
- Matinee
Junior and Esther, a Haitian couple migrating north through Mexico with Esther's two young daughters, are searching for work. Junior becomes entangled with an illegal logging gang deep within a remote forest, where the family is assigned to live in a makeshift cabin and serve as lookouts for any threats to the operation. Though precarious and exposed to the elements, the tiny structure offers them a fragile sense of belonging. Surrounded by towering trees and the mesmerizing presence of migrating monarch butterflies, the family begins to glimpse the possibility of stability—and even happiness. But beneath the forest's quiet beauty, a harsher reality slowly emerges. The symphony of natural sounds is shattered by the roar of chainsaws and heavy machinery, punctuated by the brutal crack of falling trees. As the forest is steadily stripped away, the lives of those who depend on it grow increasingly uncertain—and increasingly violent. Director Joaquín del Paso transforms the forest into a silent, sentient witness to struggle, resilience, and survival. The Garden We Dreamed—winner of Best Picture, Best Direction, and Best Cinematography at the 2026 Malaga Festival—explores the rarely portrayed reality of contemporary Haitian migration through Mexico alongside urgent ecological concerns. The fragile life of the forest, mirrored in the fleeting presence of monarch butterflies, echoes the family's own unwavering search for safety, dignity, and a place to call home.
—Hebe Tabachnik
- Original Language Title: El jardin que sonamos
- Director: Joaquín del Paso
- Principal Cast: Nehemie Bastien, Faustin Pierre, Kimaelle Holly Preville, Ruth Aicha Pierre Nelson, Carlos Esquivel
- Premiere Status: North American
- Country: Mexico
- Year: 2026
- Running Time: 100 min.
- Producer: Joaquin del Paso, Fernanda de la Peza, Itzel Sierra, Eduardo Diaz Casanova
- Screenplay: Joaquin del Paso
- Cinematographers: Gokhan Tiryaki
- Editors: Raul Barreras
- Music: Rogelio Sosa, Kyle Dixon, Michael Stein
- Awards: Malaga Film Festival 2026 (Golden Biznaga for Best Ibero-American Film, Silver Biznaga for Best Director, Silver Biznaga for Best Cinematography)
- Filmography: The Hole in the Fence (2021), Panamerican Machinery (2016)
- Language: Spanish, Haitian Creole
- Has Subtitles: Yes
- International Sales: M-Appeal