TheyDream

THEYDREAM is a deeply personal autobiographical documentary that traces how art can become a lifeline in the wake of loss. Drawing on two decades of mixed-media filmmaking, Caballero revisits his family’s history in Fayetteville, North Carolina—interweaving new 2D and 3D animations with vérité footage, archival materials, and intimate mother-son conversations.
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Rooted in the death of his grandmother Isolina, the film follows Caballero’s mother as she spirals into grief and self-blame, having not been by her mother’s side in her final moments. Instead of retreating, Caballero hands his mother a camera and tools of animation, inviting her to help bring her mother back to life. Audiences witness her trembling first attempts at animating, the tears she sheds inside motion-capture gear, and the gradual reawakening of her creative strength.
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Ultimately, THEYDREAM becomes a cinematic act of survival: a testament to how creative collaboration can resurrect memory, restore connection, and guide families through the darkest grief toward healing.