Experiencing Interruptions?

San Esteban: Freedom, Mysticism and Nopales

At the foot of the mountains of Zapopan, Mexico, lies San Esteban — an indigenous town whose identity has been shaped for generations by agriculture, ritual, food, and an intimate bond with the land. Sheltered for centuries by valleys and canyons, the community now stands at the edge of an expanding metropolis, caught between preservation and transformation.
San Esteban follows this turning point, portraying the encounter between two worlds: the ancestral rhythm of indigenous life and the arrival of new outsiders — city dwellers, eco-tourists, and adventurers — drawn by the region’s dramatic landscapes. For some, these changes threaten fragile traditions; for others, they carry the promise of renewal.
Through the voices of its people and the textures of its landscape, the film reveals a story of resilience, identity, and the quiet revolution unfolding in rural Mexico — a place where heritage is not a relic, but a living force shaping the future. It is a meditation on coexistence, where ancient knowledge and modern practices meet, and where the line between cityscape and wilderness begins to blur.

  • Francisco Herrera
    Director
  • Francisco Herrera
    Producer
  • Salvador Villaseñor
    Producer
  • José Camarena
    Key Cast
    "Nopalero"
  • Rebeca Cerda
    Key Cast
    "Ciclista"
  • Estefanía Chávez
    Key Cast
    "Escaladora"
  • Alejandro Bretón
    Key Cast
    "Experto en Turismo de Naturaleza"
  • José Gómez
    Key Cast
    "Párroco"
  • María Bernardina Sierra
    Key Cast
    "Campesina Nopalera"
  • María Trinidad Ortega
    Key Cast
    "Cocinera"
  • Serafín Corona
    Key Cast
    "Poblador"
  • Eustolia Martínez
    Key Cast
    "Pobladora"
  • María Esmeralda Machuca
    Key Cast
    "Cocinera"
  • Pedro Corona
    Key Cast
    "Nopalero"
  • Walter Davis
    Sound
  • Miguel Angel González
    Editor
  • Project Title (Original Language):
    San Esteban: libertad, misticismo y nopales
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    27 minutes 40 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 9, 2025
  • Production Budget:
    50,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Mexico
  • Country of Filming:
    Mexico
  • Language:
    Spanish
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital 4K
  • Aspect Ratio:
    2:39
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Digital Cinema Package:
    Unavailable
Director Biography - Francisco Herrera

Paco Herrera Carrillo is a Mexican filmmaker, cinematographer, and producer whose career bridges over two decades of narrative and documentary storytelling. His path began in analog video before formal training in film school, where he specialized in cinematography and earned the Kodak Film Student Scholarship (1999). Since then, Paco has built a reputation for creating visually striking and emotionally grounded films, balancing technical mastery with a deep commitment to authentic storytelling.
As a Director of Photography, Paco has worked across formats and genres, contributing to feature documentaries, fiction projects, and animation. His credits include the animated features El Secreto del Medallón de Jade, Monster Island, Cranston Academy (available on Netflix), Bem & Yo; the feature Aversión, and several award-winning shorts. His direction includes over a dozen music videos and multiple documentaries, blending a Mexican sensibility with international visual language.
His work has been recognized with multiple Telly Awards — including Silver for cinematography — and production grants from the Mexican Ministry of Culture and IMCINE. With Baklight, the production company he co-founded, Paco leads projects from conception through post-production, offering a platform for independent and culturally rooted filmmaking.
Fluent in English and Spanish, with additional language skills in German and French, Paco has collaborated internationally while maintaining a focus on Mexican stories. His aesthetics merge the textures of rural and urban Mexico with influences from global cinema, always centering people, land, and identity.
His latest project, San Esteban: Freedom, Mysticism and Nopales, reflects this vision: a meditation on resilience and transformation in an indigenous town where nopales farming traditions and modern adventurers converge to reshape land, community, and the future.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

When I first set foot in San Esteban, at the base of the mountains of Zapopan, Mexico, I felt a powerful duality: the calm rhythm of an indigenous farming town and, at the same time, the looming pressure of a metropolis pushing at its borders. This tension between tradition and change, between rooted identity and outside influence, became the seed of this documentary.
What drew me most was not just the beauty of the landscape — the valleys, the canyons, the fertile soil — but the way people’s lives are woven into it. Here, nopales are farmed with the same care and rhythm that has sustained families for generations. Agriculture, ritual, food, and community are not simply traditions in San Esteban; they are expressions of resilience and survival.
At the same time, I witnessed the arrival of outsiders — city dwellers, eco-tourists, and adventurers — who brought with them different values and expectations. Their presence collides with the pace of indigenous life: sometimes creating friction, sometimes sparking unexpected connections. In this clash of communities, San Esteban became a mirror for questions that reach far beyond this valley: How do we protect heritage without isolating ourselves from change? Can modern practices coexist with ancestral knowledge? What happens when land becomes a meeting ground between those who have always belonged and those who come seeking refuge in nature?
As a filmmaker, I felt a responsibility to capture not only the visible transformations but also the voices, music, silences, and textures of this place. I wanted the film to breathe at the pace of the town, allowing viewers to listen, reflect, and feel the complexity of this encounter.
This is not just the story of one town. It is a quiet revolution unfolding in rural Mexico, a meditation on coexistence, and a reminder that heritage is not a relic of the past — it is a living force shaping the future.