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The Right to Social Reintegration: Interview with Santiago Esteinou, director of LA LIBERTAD DE FIERRO

Ariadna Lucas Coronel

What is freedom after spending 40 years locked up for a wrongful conviction? Santiago Esteinou, who has known César Fierro since 2009, reflects on the concept of freedom in accompanying César and his transition process from being in complete isolation to rejoining society.

Freedom, in the context of reintegration, must be built on an emotional and social level. In La libertad de Fierro (2024), his latest work, Santiago invites us to reflect on inclusion and the right of people who have been deprived of their freedom to rebuild their life projects and, thus, reconstruct their identity.

Following its inclusion in the Mexican Documentary Feature Film Competition at the 22nd Morelia International Film Festival (FICM), we spoke with Santiago Esteinou about the development of his documentary process with César Fierro.

FICM: In La libertad de Fierro (2024) you change the focus from a denunciation to an intimate testimony, as you had done in previous documentaries, what led you to focus on César's healing process, instead of continuing with this more judicial approach that you had found in Los Años de Fierro (2013)?

SE: It was part of the process. I didn't want to make the same film twice. I think that even though the first film is a film that was made ten years ago, in a way it is still relevant. Because the injustices were committed and there they are, but this film was not about doing the same thing twice, it was not about denouncing the same facts that we had already presented in the first film. Besides, César was going through an extremely rich process and it seemed to me that it was more interesting to approach it from that point of view.

FICM: Of course. And you've also been with Cesar at different stages of his life over the many years you've worked together in this filming process. How has your relationship with him evolved, and how has it influenced the way you decided to tell his story in this new film?

SE: Well, the first interview he gave me, I think it was in 2009 or 2010, I don't really remember exactly when. At that time he had not had any press interviews for a long time, he had not accepted any interviews, he did not speak to the press or to his lawyers. And through Consul Luis Lara, who at that time was the protection consul at the Consulate General of Mexico in Houston, I managed to contact César, and César agreed to be interviewed. At that time, I went to the prison, I could not go in because I had not done the authorization paperwork properly with the prison. So I got to the gates and they wouldn't let me in. And I thought, “Well, this is over now. To be the first person he's seen in a long time and I don't show up, well, no, he's not going to see me again. And then he wrote me a letter and said: “Well, if you want to make a documentary about my story and if you want to continue working, then figure out what you need to figure out and come back”. So I came back and from then on we continued to communicate. First we saw each other every three months to make the first film, and once that was done, Cesaar would write letters once or twice a month and I would reply. We continued that until he was released from prison and we got much closer.

FICM: It is a very intimate documentary, and that is obviously reflected in the relationship between you two. How did you work with your team so that the camera and sound would not interfere in moments of César's vulnerability while he is readjusting to a life of freedom?

SE: First of all, we worked with a small crew. In most cases, there were three of us: myself, Axel Pedraza, who is in charge of the camera, and different people in charge of sound: Liliana Villaseñor, Pablo Taméz, Axel Muñoz, Pablo Cruz. We were a three-person team, sometimes fellow producer José Miguel Díaz Salinas was also there. I think that working with small teams helps to generate that intimacy and, well, that's all. By being respectful, I think. I feel very happy that the whole team understood what the film was about and we were on the same page in that sense.

FICM: Going deeper into what you address in your documentary, the idea of freedom that you deal with is a bit complex. While César is out of prison, he continues to face many barriers even after his release. How do you define true freedom in the context of his story, and how do you think the audience will understand it after seeing the documentary?

SE: Well, I think that the concept of freedom that the film talks about is a freedom that is built little by little. Freedom is not simply being deprived of the possibility of moving freely from one place to another, like being in prison. Freedom also has to be built and that requires internal and external resources. So I think the film talks a bit about how César begins to rebuild that freedom. You can't say: “Oh, he's out of prison, he's a free man.” You have to build that freedom, I think.

FICM: And in the narrative sense, how do you think La libertad de Fierro contributes to the reflection on the penitentiary system and justice, not only in the United States but in general?

SE: Well, I don't know if the film contributes anything, but at least it is an invitation to reflect on the inclusion of people who were stripped of their freedom and who find themselves free again. About all the difficulties that building that freedom again implies. About the right that these people have to rebuild their life project. In César's case, all this was caused by an injustice and that makes it even more serious. But the film talks about that, about including people who at some point have been deprived of their freedom so that they can rebuild their lives.

FICM: Of course, thank you very much, Santiago, for your time and for talking about your film.

SE: On the contrary, thank you very much. There is one thing that might interest you and that has to do with a recommendation from the CNDH, published in February of this year. The CNDH urges the municipal authorities of Ciudad Juarez to provide full reparation to Cesar. The CNDH document is on the page. It is interesting now that we were talking about reintegration, isn't it? I think that really complying with this recommendation will be what will allow César to be more successful, in the sense of being able to really rebuild his personal projects.

FICM: Yes, the damage done to him for being wrongfully imprisoned should be recognized. Thank you very much for the recommendation.