A queer Puerto Rican filmmaker and his mother built miniature sets, stepped in front of green screens, and used motion capture to bring their dead family members back to life.

THEYDREAM, William D. Caballero’s hybrid documentary, hits AMC Empire 25 in New York on November 13. Executive produced by John Leguizamo, the film took home the NEXT Special Jury Award for Creative Expression at Sundance earlier this year.

Caballero and his mother Migdalia “Milly” Caballero spent over two decades archiving their family’s story, from Brooklyn public housing to rural North Carolina. Now they’ve turned those memories into art, mixing 2D and 3D animation, handcrafted miniatures, digital rotoscoping, and vérité footage to process devastating losses.

The film traces a working-class Nuyorican family across generations, exploring queer self-acceptance and intergenerational healing through animation and candid conversations. It’s already picked up awards at Miami, the New York Latino Film Festival, Ann Arbor, and LA Latino International.

The theatrical release follows festival screenings in Charlotte, Montclair, San Francisco, Asheville, Memphis, and a DOC NYC presentation on November 15.

This matters because indie filmmakers are proving you don’t need a massive budget to tell deeply personal stories. Just green screens, miniatures, and two decades of love.