SPECIAL NEW Release
“Growing up, we didn’t hear about murder from the news. We heard about it from each other. Poverty and violence have a way of stripping you of your identity, making you do anything to get out.”
STILL HERE, a profoundly personal film about a Latino family in the Midwest, tells the story of three brothers whose coming of age was stained by violence, poverty, and prison. Through first person recollections, the Barrera brothers confront childhood trauma and the compounding loss of freedom. But this isn’t a story about hopelessness — it’s an intimate exploration of a love that endures decades of separation. A love that has kept these brothers together now, and indefinitely. Directed, written, filmed and edited by Mariah Barrera, the daughter and niece of the protagonists, STILL HERE is a revealing, raw and powerful portrayal of a family whose story is shared through the filmmaker’s lens.
Mariah Barrera, a 2021 Still I Rise Films Fellow. completed STILL HERE with the fellowship’s support and mentorship. Since then, Mariah’s film has screened across the nation and continues to educate viewers.
ABOUT THE FILMMAKER
Mariah Barrera
Mariah Barrera is a Mexican-American filmmaker and writer born and raised in Michigan. Currently in New York City, Mariah is a first-generation student at Columbia University. Her films have been shown at HBO-founded Urbanworld, Cleveland International Film Festival, NFFTY, DOC NYC and highlighted by NowThis, Stylecaster, The Washington Post, Women Make Movies, and Adobe Gen Create. Mariah has garnered recognition as a YoungArts Alumna, Mitú-Walmart Film Mentee, Made In Her Image Panavision Mentee, Hispanic Heritage Foundation Awardee and Sotheby's Art Noir Grantee.
Mariah’s films aim to amplify themes of social justice and equity, drawing from her family and community’s experiences in the urban Midwest. Using these stories, she is passionate about bridging the gap between narrative and documentary through poetry. Mariah is working on her second documentary as a Still I Rise Films Fellow and is embarking on a Commercial Director Mentorship Program with the NY-based production company Picture Farm, supported by Kodak & AbelCine.