Gabriella Garcia  Pardo

Documentary Filmmaker

“They ran from the white man.” This, we’re told, is why the inhabitants of the Afro Colombian village of La Bonga fled their homes decades ago. Today, having never returned, the Bongueros keep the memory of their village alive through stories. For Maria de los Santos, however, tales of the past are not enough. Determined that her children know where they come from, Maria uses the occasion of the feast of La Bonga’s patron saint to organize a procession of hundreds of Bongueros back home through the jungle. Employing a deliberately—and sometimes literally—opaque narrative strategy, La Bonga, directed by Sebastián Pinzón Silva and Canela Reyes, refuses to make an ethnographic spectacle of this trek and this community, its rituals, and its history. Instead, its affectingly poetic—and hauntingly beautiful—approach honors the Bongueros and their indelible connection to the land. 

La Bonga

Ashley Solis is a Mexican American teenager, farmworker and factory worker who dreams of being the first in her family to graduate from high school and go to college. Her mother is undocumented, and like many families with mixed documented status, they face the threat of family separation. With responsibility for earning enough to look after her sisters, Ashley balances working nights in a California strawberry-freezing factory with her school attendance. She struggles to get enough sleep and to get her homework done. As her school threatens to punish her for missed classes, Ashley wonders what its slogan – "dream big, work hard" – means for someone in her position.

Fruits of Labor  |  The Guardian

On February 28, 2017, 13-year-old Fatima Avelica watched her dad, Romulo Avelica-Gonzalez, be detained by immigration agents. She pulled out her phone and started recording. In the video, which went viral almost instantly, you can hear her sobbing. The family was instantly pushed into the spotlight, attending press conferences and rallies for the father’s release. This intimate and emotional piece shows how the family is coping, more than a year later.

A Viral Video Saved her Father from  Deportation  |  National Geographic

As Colombia’s new president, Ivan Duque, is inaugurated, many Colombians displaced from their homes are concerned for their future under new government leadership. During the country’s 52-year war, which ended almost two years ago, seven million people were internally displaced as the Colombian government fought against leftist guerrilla fighters of the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, known as FARC. Maria de los Santos Caseres was one of them.

Maria de los Santos  |  National Geographic

Every summer the young horses of Iceland roam the northern mountains freely. Many farmers believe this is what creates their strong personalities and sturdiness. In the autumn, farmers, neighbors, and family members follow the tradition of göngur, herding the horses home.

Gabriella Garcia Pardo

Documentary Filmmaker

La Bonga

Fruits of Labor | The Guardian

A Viral Video Saved her Father from...

Maria de los Santos | National Ge...

Untamed Horses in Iceland’s Mountai...

Winter Solitude