{"id":4398,"date":"2026-03-01T19:47:23","date_gmt":"2026-03-01T19:47:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&#038;-environmental-film-festival\/?page_id=4398"},"modified":"2026-03-01T20:44:59","modified_gmt":"2026-03-01T20:44:59","slug":"freeing-juanita","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/freeing-juanita\/","title":{"rendered":"Freeing Juanita"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p> Directed by: Sebasti\u00e1n Lasaosa Rogers<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Country of Origin: Guatemala, Mexico, United States<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Runtime: 01:13:57<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Juanita has been unjustly detained in Reynosa, Mexico for over seven years, accused of a crime she didn\u2019t commit and forced to confess in a language she didn\u2019t understand. This intimate portrait follows Ana and Pedro, Juanita\u2019s aunt and uncle, on their thousand-mile journey from the highlands of Guatemala. With the help of their Maya Chuj community and a network of Maya interpreters, they fight for Juanita\u2019s freedom and demand justice from the Mexican authorities, a cause that became internationally recognized for its defense of migrants\u2019 rights and language justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text is-stacked-on-mobile\" style=\"grid-template-columns:38% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" data-layzr=\"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Sebastian-Lasaosa-Rogers.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4399 size-full\"\/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p class=\"has-small-font-size\">Sebasti\u00e1n is a Spanish-American filmmaker and cinematographer based in Brooklyn, NY. Freeing Juanita is his directorial feature debut. As a cinematographer he has lensed documentaries such as The Art of Making It (2021) which won an Audience Award at SXSW. His documentary short film Esquilas en la monta\u00f1a (2017) premiered at the New Orleans Film Festival. Sebasti\u00e1n got his start in film while studying Anthropology and Film at Vanderbilt University, in Nashville, TN where he made his first bilingual videos supporting social justice and workers\u2019 rights campaigns.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Directed by: Sebasti\u00e1n Lasaosa Rogers Country of Origin: Guatemala, Mexico, United States Runtime: 01:13:57 Juanita has been unjustly detained in Reynosa, Mexico for over seven years, accused of a crime she didn\u2019t commit and forced to confess in a language she didn\u2019t understand. This intimate portrait follows Ana and Pedro, Juanita\u2019s aunt and uncle, on &hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4342,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"pgc_sgb_lightbox_settings":"","footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-4398","page","type-page","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","latest_post"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Freeing Juanita - International Migration &amp; Environmental Film Festival<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/freeing-juanita\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Freeing Juanita - International Migration &amp; Environmental Film Festival\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Directed by: Sebasti\u00e1n Lasaosa Rogers Country of Origin: Guatemala, Mexico, United States Runtime: 01:13:57 Juanita has been unjustly detained in Reynosa, Mexico for over seven years, accused of a crime she didn\u2019t commit and forced to confess in a language she didn\u2019t understand. This intimate portrait follows Ana and Pedro, Juanita\u2019s aunt and uncle, on &hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&amp;-environmental-film-festival\/freeing-juanita\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"International Migration &amp; Environmental Film Festival\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/m.facebook.com\/imefilmfest\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-01T20:44:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Freeing-Juanita.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"540\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/freeing-juanita\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/freeing-juanita\/\",\"name\":\"Freeing Juanita - International Migration &amp; Environmental Film Festival\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/freeing-juanita\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/freeing-juanita\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Freeing-Juanita.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-01T19:47:23+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-01T20:44:59+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/freeing-juanita\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/freeing-juanita\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/freeing-juanita\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Freeing-Juanita.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Freeing-Juanita.jpg\",\"width\":540,\"height\":800},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/freeing-juanita\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/home\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Freeing Juanita\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/\",\"name\":\"International Migration & Environmental Film Festival\",\"description\":\"North America&#039;s Largest Film Festival on Migration and Environment Sustainability\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/#organization\",\"name\":\"International Migration & Environmental Film Festival\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/IMEFF-i-1-scaled.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/IMEFF-i-1-scaled.jpg\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":2560,\"caption\":\"International Migration & Environmental Film Festival\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/m.facebook.com\/imefilmfest\/\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Freeing Juanita - International Migration &amp; Environmental Film Festival","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/freeing-juanita\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Freeing Juanita - International Migration &amp; Environmental Film Festival","og_description":"Directed by: Sebasti\u00e1n Lasaosa Rogers Country of Origin: Guatemala, Mexico, United States Runtime: 01:13:57 Juanita has been unjustly detained in Reynosa, Mexico for over seven years, accused of a crime she didn\u2019t commit and forced to confess in a language she didn\u2019t understand. This intimate portrait follows Ana and Pedro, Juanita\u2019s aunt and uncle, on &hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/freeing-juanita\/","og_site_name":"International Migration &amp; Environmental Film Festival","article_publisher":"https:\/\/m.facebook.com\/imefilmfest\/","article_modified_time":"2026-03-01T20:44:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":540,"height":800,"url":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Freeing-Juanita.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/freeing-juanita\/","url":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/freeing-juanita\/","name":"Freeing Juanita - International Migration &amp; Environmental Film Festival","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/freeing-juanita\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/freeing-juanita\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Freeing-Juanita.jpg","datePublished":"2026-03-01T19:47:23+00:00","dateModified":"2026-03-01T20:44:59+00:00","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/freeing-juanita\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/freeing-juanita\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/freeing-juanita\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Freeing-Juanita.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Freeing-Juanita.jpg","width":540,"height":800},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/freeing-juanita\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/home\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Freeing Juanita"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/#website","url":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/","name":"International Migration & Environmental Film Festival","description":"North America&#039;s Largest Film Festival on Migration and Environment Sustainability","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/#organization","name":"International Migration & Environmental Film Festival","url":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/IMEFF-i-1-scaled.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/IMEFF-i-1-scaled.jpg","width":2560,"height":2560,"caption":"International Migration & Environmental Film Festival"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/m.facebook.com\/imefilmfest\/"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4398","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4398"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4398\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4449,"href":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/4398\/revisions\/4449"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/imefilmfest.com\/international-migration-&-environmental-film-festival\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4398"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}