Shot in Ana Ts’uyeb’s home village of Naranjatic Alto in the Mexican highlands, “I Died” is a documentary portrait of women from the Indigenous Tzotzil community. The film focuses on three figures close to the director: her mother, Margarita; her aunt, Juana; and her sister-in-law, Faustina.
Although they belong to different generations, all three describe experiences shaped by patriarchal violence. They recall educational opportunities, ambitions and personal hopes that were blocked by fathers and other male relatives, alongside physical and psychological abuse. Their restrained accounts suggest that such experiences are not isolated within the community.
Rather than relying on conventional seated interviews, Ts’uyeb films the women as they work. Scenes of weaving, sieving grain and harvesting give the documentary a reflective visual language while recording everyday customs and traditions. Their labour also becomes a portrait of collective resilience.
The film notes that Tzotzil women were historically exploited for their work while being denied land inheritance. Through the Zapatista movement, the women featured can now work their own land, although the documentary offers limited background on the movement’s activism and land reform efforts.
Despite that lack of context, “I Died” remains centred on the women’s inner lives. One particularly affecting moment shows Margarita carefully clearing an uneven path in front of Ts’uyeb. The gesture suggests the possibility that generational trauma might finally be giving way to a different future for the women of Naranjatic Alto.
Sources: The Guardian Film.