At 63, newly freed César Fierro must rebuild his life after being wrongfully convicted in Texas 40 years earlier. In this documentary, the audience accompanies Fierro on his journey, observing his often painful transition back into society.
At 63, Mexican-born César Fierro has just become a free man, and must rebuild his life after being wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death in Texas. Fierro spent 40 years in the Polunsky Unit, a “supermax” prison that keeps inmates in isolation for decades, depriving them of contact with other human beings.
Santiago Esteinou’s latest documentary is a sequel to his 2014 TIFF selection, The Years of Fierro. In this carefully observed film, Esteinou chronicles Fierro’s transition back to freedom in México City and the unforeseen challenges he encounters along the way, from catching up with everyday technology to assuming a new relationship with self-accountability.
Fierro’s unexpected release during the pandemic poses difficulties to the filmmaking team, and they use these allegorically. As he emerges from isolated confinement, Fierro enters a society under lockdown, with Esteinou assuming the role of a new sort of guard. Through this lens, the documentary delves into the true essence of freedom and critiques the time, opportunities, and skills lost to incarceration.
In their conversations, Fierro and Esteinou discuss not only the harrowing abuses Fierro endured, but also the dreams he cherished, and how he maintained his mental and physical commitment to survival. The audience accompanies Fierro on his journey, observing his often painful transition while being given the fuel to reconsider rights most of us take for granted.
DIANA CADAVID
Content advisory: mature themes
Screenings
Scotiabank 7
TIFF Lightbox 4
Scotiabank 11
Scotiabank 5