Programs

Clean Hands

What happens when your wildest dreams come true?

The four Lopez children, aged between 6 and 10, live with their parents on La Chureca, Central America’s largest garbage dump. They have never been to school and, unlike their parents, don’t fully grasp what they don’t have. The dump is the only world they have ever known. Then a philanthropist hears of the family’s plight and builds them a small house in the country with land they can farm. The kids can attend school for the first time and the family can escape the desolation and dead-end life of La Chureca.

But what should be an amazing opportunity for everyone turns into a much more complex tale of love and loss, rescue and salvation. As the family adjusts to their new life, past demons come back to haunt them. Their mother, in particular, struggles to adapt. Relationships that, on the dump, seemed rock solid fray and tear. When things take an unexpected dark turn, their very future as a family appears in jeopardy.

Shot over the course of seven years, ‘Clean Hands’ is a multi award-winning account of family, extreme poverty and the hope and innocence of children.

PRODUCTION INFO

  • Year: 2019
  • Duration: 98 & 52 mins
  • Production: Broadway Bill Productions
  • Director: Michael Dominic
  • Available Versions: ENG
  • Country of production: USA

VOD LINKS

FESTIVALS & AWARDS

  • AWARDS •Best Documentary Feature Cinequest Film & VR Festival, USA 2019 •Best Documentary Feature San Diego Latino Film Festival, USA 2019 •Documentary Gold Award Columbus International Film Festival, USA 2019 •Documentary Audience Award, Bronze Chicago Latino Film Festival, USA 2019 •Programmer’s Favorite Newport Beach Film Festival, USA 2019 •Grand Jury Award, International Documentary Feature Mammoth Lakes Film Festival, USA 2019 •Best Documentary HBO’s New York Latino Film Festival, USA 2019 •Special Jury Award Salento International Film Festival, Italy 2019 •Honorable Mention Award New Jersey International Film Festival, USA 2019 •Festival Director’s Prize OFF Cinema, International Documentary Film Festival, Poznan, Poland 2019 OTHER FESTIVALS SELECTIONS • TRT Documentary Awards Festival, Turkey • DocFeed, Netherlands • New Hope Film Festival • Docs MX Festival, Mexico • Seattle Latino Film Festival, USA • Brooklyn Film Festival, USA • AFI Latin American Film Festival, USA • Ashland Independant Film Festival, USA • San Antonio Film Festival, USA • Boston Latino International Film Festival, USA • Port-Jefferson Doc Series, USA • Icaro International Film Festival, USA • DocsValència 2021 (Spain) • Devour! The Food Film Fest 2021 (Canada)

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