Daniel Eduvijes Carrera, 19, from Mexico, still without his usual curly hair, stood surrounded by dreams. He was here with some friends.
Daniel Eduvijes Carrera, the young Mexican filmmaker and director of the short film El Paisa, has achieved much in recent years. He has gained recognition, and 2024 has been a year of continuous ascent for him.
“It’s been surreal; I still haven’t processed it. So many of my dreams have come true, wonderful things have happened, and this end of the year at the Cineteca Nacional in Mexico has been the ultimate,” says Dani, as many affectionately call him.
Returning to Mexico has felt like a love story. He was just 19 years old when the Facultad de Filosofía y Letras at UNAM and the Cineteca Nacional became his sanctuaries for the dreams he had of becoming a filmmaker.
“I spent every day here (at the Cineteca). I saw my first movies here, I wrote my first scripts with my friend Mitzi Vanessa Arreola. The Cineteca and UNAM represent so much in my life,” says this filmmaker, now based in Los Angeles.
“This brilliant beauty and I found our voices together as budding filmmakers, mere babies at UNAM. Now, I couldn’t be more proud of her creative impact. My heart quickens in the company of #MitzivanessaArreola. We’ve kept our promises,” he wrote on Instagram.
El Paisa was part of the lineup for Migrant Cinema Week at the Cineteca Nacional, the premier film temple in Mexico, where the best works of Mexican filmmakers and actors have been shown. His short film is now part of the history of this temple.
“Do you remember when we used to spend all our time here?” Dani asks Mitzi, his companion in this adventure and, like him, a director and screenwriter of important film projects.
“We used to spend hours writing, drinking coffee, getting drunk, arguing…” she replies after the screening of El Paisa. Their eyes light up, as flashes of those moments from years ago seem to come rushing back to both of them.
It wasn’t just about cinema; they were also deeply involved in social awareness, like many young people from that era.
“I lived through the student strike,” Daniel says mischievously.
This year, Dani was invited back to his Alma Mater, UNAM, to present his film and participate in a panel on Gender, Violence, and Corporality in North American Cinema.
“I haven’t set foot on this campus in nearly 20 years, so I’m thrilled, humbled, and bracing myself for this full-circle moment,” he wrote on Instagram. He adds in this interview, “It was like being in another atmosphere, another world… I was sitting on that panel in one of the university towers, and from the window, I could see the whole campus. It was an incredible feeling.”
But that’s not all. El Paisa was chosen for the Emerging Filmmakers Showcase at the Cannes Film Festival in France, where it won Best Short Film. This followed wins at several local film festivals in Los Angeles, as well as world premieres at Outfest, the Imagen Awards, the East LA Film Festival, and more.
“It was like being in another atmosphere, another world… I was sitting on that panel in one of the university towers, and from the window, I could see the whole campus. It was an incredible feeling.”
Dani looks at me as if he were watching a movie—though not at me. He’s likely reflecting on all that has happened this year, 2024.
“All of this has given me the confidence and security to walk through the world. At Cannes, I went with reservations, but I knew I belonged in that world, where the best of the best in cinema is represented. We’ve come to the end of the year, and I’m very grateful. It’s time for reflection, but also to think about what’s next. I need to make my feature film; it’s time. I have to start working in that direction. I fear I might not reach the level of a feature, but I have to do it,” he says.
In light of the political changes in the U.S., the return of Donald Trump, and the anticipated attacks on the LGBTQ community, he says that the commitment of artists and filmmakers is to tell the stories of undocumented people and immigrants, humanizing them.
El Paisa has done an excellent job of telling these stories.
The success of El Paisa has not only impacted him but the entire cast.
“We’ve built a family; we’re like a band. I realize we’ve grown. They feel more secure. This story has helped them in their lives and careers. They’re proud of the work, and being with them, sharing with them, is an emotional and very positive experience,” he says.
Just like when he was sitting in that seventh-floor room at UNAM, thinking he was dreaming, Dani now walks into Theater 10 of the Cineteca, with a humility that’s contagious. He hands out flyers with links to the film on social media, chats with the audience, and gets congratulated.
As the lights go out, the screening begins. The audience laughs during some scenes and reflects during others. Some of his friends arrive. Mitzi is there. Daniel watches his film attentively, as well as the film of another colleague. He laughs again. I try to picture him at 19, discovering a world of films, a collection he is now part of.
The success of El Paisa has not only impacted him but the entire cast. “We’ve built a family; we’re like a band. I realize we’ve grown.”
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