for all screenings
Film Languages
English, Spanish
Director
William D. Caballero
Producers
William D. Caballero, Brad Jones, Erin Ploss-Campoamor, Elaine Del Valle
A deeply personal documentary presented in a variety of animation styles that examines the transformative nature of grief for the director, his mother, and other members of their tight-knit Puerto Rican family in Fayetteville, North Carolina. THEYDREAM revisits his past twenty years as a filmmaker who has employed an eclectic range of visual styles, interweaving brand new animations with live-action footage in order to dig deeper than ever before and better understand why he makes the art that he does. Ultimately, the film becomes an intimate confession—not just about grief, but about the courage it takes to transform pain into art alongside the people we love most.
William D. Caballero is a Puerto Rican–American, queer filmmaker who blends animation, audio interviews, and live action to uplift underrepresented voices. Raised in Brooklyn and North Carolina, he has premiered animated documentary shorts at the 2017 and 2022 Sundance Film Festival. A Guggenheim Fellow, Creative Capital Awardee, and 2024 Webby Award winner, Caballero is recognized for formal innovation and deeply human storytelling.