Un Día Normal (short version)

When she is confronted with the threat of deportation by ICE officers, a distressed young woman must fight through a panic attack to prove her valid DACA status without revealing she has an undocumented mother.

  • Maurizio Dominguez
    Director
  • Maurizio Dominguez
    Writer
  • Maurizio Dominguez
    Producer
  • Andi Jo Taylor
    Key Cast
    "Esmeralda"
  • Ulises Otero
    Key Cast
    "Leonel"
  • Angeles Vara
    Key Cast
    "Angelina"
  • Corey Ryter
    Key Cast
    "ICE Officer"
  • Joseph TenBroek
    Key Cast
    "ICE Officer"
  • Project Type:
    Short
  • Runtime:
    16 minutes 5 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    September 30, 2024
  • Production Budget:
    15,000 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States, United States
  • Country of Filming:
    United States, United States
  • Language:
    English, Spanish
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Maurizio Dominguez

Maurizio Dominguez is a Mexican-American actor and filmmaker, a graduate from Specs Howard School of Media Arts. Maurizio got his start in acting and film working with Matrix Theatre Company in Southwest Detroit. In collaboration with Matrix, he co-directed and edited The Way of Art - a documentary short about the building of a 12-foot puppet of Diego Rivera.
Maurizio's passion is visual storytelling - he loves building and supporting a story through images. Most recently, he directed and produced the award-winning short film Un Día Normal, which is based on a true story and was filmed in Southwest Detroit. The film looks at the challenges faced by recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program (DACA), and shows the impact that immigration enforcement has on families and communities.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

For many years, I wanted to make a film that spoke about the reality that immigrant families with mixed immigration status face in the U.S. Especially given the tumultuous political climate of the last few years, stories like my family’s, like the Monzón family’s, are often go unheard among all of the political bickering and misinformation.

As it did for many other recipients, the DACA program had a major change in my life since it allowed me to work and to study for the career of my dreams. Since I have the opportunity to work in film, I consider it my responsibility to use the medium to help reach out to and inform others.

Un Día Normal was born as a way to not only look at the family dynamics in an immigrant family, but also show the impact that decisions made at the government level have on the family's lives. Living with DACA at times feels like an ongoing state of limbo - you are allowed to work, but only temporarily, and not knowing if you will be allowed to renew. You are reminded frequently that it is a very fragile status, and that it can be taken away at the slightest slip-up. And the ongoing teeter-totter of agencies fighting over the program’s legality in court makes it very difficult to really plan ahead for the future. A large part of your future depends on the actions and decisions of others, and you don’t have control over what decisions will be made.

Un Día Normal is my attempt to inform the people that can have a say in the decisions - the policymakers and voters - of the impact that their choices can have on the lives of immigrant families, and to show just how ever-present and potentially devastating the threat of deportation is to families who’ve left everything behind in the search of a better life.