Sanctuary, the debut film by New York-based Mexican filmmaker Andrea Córdoba, was the top winner at the 2019 edition of the Brooklyn Film Festival winning the Grand Chameleon Award for Best film, as well as the Best Documentary Award.
Sanctuary, which had its world premiere at the Brooklyn Film Festival, tells the story of Amanda Morales, who walked into a church in New York City not knowing when she would step outside again. The Guatemalan mother of three U.S.-born children is the first immigrant since President Trump took office to claim sanctuary in New York, publicly resisting her deportation within a space that ICE recognizes as protected. Sanctuary gains rare and intimate access to Amanda and her family as they fight to remain together and adapt to daily life inside a church.
For the past 6 years, Córdoba has worked as a visual storyteller exploring the medium in relation to immigrant and Latinx voices. Andrea has worked for CNN, as well as Researcher for documentary 500 Years (2017), as Archival Coordinator for documentary Bones of Contention (2017) and is currently the Associate Producer for the documentary Harvest Season (2018). She received her BA in Anthropology and Journalism from NYU and an MFA in Social Documentary Film from the School of Visual Arts.
Córdoba becomes the second Mexican filmmaker to win the top prize at the Brooklyn event after Rodrigo Reyes took home the Grand Chameleon Award and Best Narrative Feature Award at the 2017 edition of the festival for his film Lupe Under the Sun. The 2019 edition of the Brooklyn Film Festival took place May 31 - June 9 in New York City.
