Rita Patiño, an indigenous woman from Mexico, was found by a human rights organization inside a Kansas psychiatric hospital, where she had been involuntarily confined, for 12 years, despite the fact that the hospital authorities were never able to determine who was this woman, where did she come from, or what language she spoke. After the consequences of confinement and medical negligence, Rita returned to Mexico, where she lives with Juanita, her niece, and primary caregiver, in a context of precarious economic possibilities. A moving portrait of the lives of these two Tarahumara women, questioning the multiple forms of racism and discrimination that indigenous women in Mexico and the United States face.
Direction
Esteinou refuses easy redemption arcs—lets silence speak.
Cinematography
Sierra Tarahumara landscapes as character, not backdrop.
Writing
Reconstruction scenes with Ángeles Cruz avoid exploitative reenactment tropes.
Director
Santiago Esteinou
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The Tarahumara (Rarámuri) are among Mexico's most marginalized Indigenous groups; Rita's case exemplifies how linguistic discrimination compounds with gender and migration status. The film premiered at Morelia, where audiences included Rarámuri community members who had never seen their reality on screen.
Rita was misidentified as 'Jane Doe' and given antipsychotics for psychosis she never had; her actual condition was likely severe trauma and complete linguistic isolation. The hospital's 'unable to determine' framing in official records becomes the film's central indictment.
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