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“If I Can Only Make One Film in My Life, It Has to Be This One”: Joseph Todd Walker Presented LA GLORIA at the 23rd FICM

Alan Rodríguez

La Gloria, Joseph Todd Walker's first feature film, had its Mexican premiere at the 23rd Morelia International Film Festival (FICM). During the screening, the director was joined by Morelia-born actress Jaklyn Bejarano, who stars in the film and couldn't hide her excitement to return to her hometown and share this moment with the festival's audience.

Jaklyn has been a theater actress and dancer for several years, and this production marks the first feature film of her career: “The first of many, if it does her justice,” said Joseph.

La Gloria tells the story of a rancher on the Texas border who accidentally shoots a young migrant woman when she crosses his property and must decide whether to help her, risking being discovered by his son, a U.S. Border Patrol agent.

The American filmmaker spoke about filming on his grandparents' ranch, where he saw people trying to cross the border during his childhood: “I always said to myself, ‘If I can only make one movie in my life, it has to be this one.’”

“My ambition with this film was to create a brief but authentic portrait of two human beings who are involved in the political, economic, and climatic movements of our time, but who fundamentally are living their own stories that can be felt around the world,” added the director.

Jaklyn Bejarano praised working with her co-star David Morse: “Since this is my first film, I wondered if I would be able to measure up to an actor like him. David is an extremely generous person, very professional, and a great human being.”

Finally, the lead actress thanked actress Laura Almela, the poetry of Rosario Catellanos, and the music of Mercedes Sosa, all of which have been part of the inspiration for her work as an actress and, above all, for creating this character.