Tijuana, Todavía: A Queer Migration Story That Defies the Odds

From Tijuana to the Venice Film Festival

Nothing sharpens the mind like working within constraints. This is exactly what Gabriel Gutiérrez Morales and his team faced when creating Tijuana, Todavía, a film that earned itself a slot at the 83rd Venice Film Festival where it vies for the Queer Lion. Made on a shoestring production grant of €200,000 ($234,000) and given just three weeks to write a screenplay and outline a production schedule, the film's journey from conception to screen is nothing short of inspiring.

"Not even the smallest films in Mexico are made with a budget that tiny but at the same time, all those restrictions made it a very joyful experience," said producer Humberto Busto.

All in all, Gutiérrez Morales and Busto had ten months to develop, write, produce, shoot, and complete the film by the Biennale College – Cinema, which backed it as part of its annual training program. The result is a deeply personal yet universally resonant story set in Tijuana, Mexico—where the border becomes not just a geographical line but a cultural and emotional threshold.

Queer Migration Through Tijuana's Lens

Tijuana, Todavía (translated to "Still, Tijuana") follows Maksim, a young queer man fleeing Russia to avoid being drafted into the war with Ukraine, and Chava, a middle-aged gay man grappling with Northern Mexican machismo. The film's central theme is the intersection of queer identity and refugee experience—a subject that resonates more urgently than ever in our current geopolitical climate.

"As a producer and performer, I feel this film arrives at a pivotal moment," said Busto, who plays Chava. "Tijuana, Todavía speaks directly to the current situation in Russia and to the consequences of queer migration to countries like Mexico. This experience of displacement and reinvention at the border is the core identity of the film."

The Real-Life Stories That Inspired the Film

The seeds for this narrative were planted in Gutiérrez Morales' own life. "One of the seeds for the film came when I was still living in Tijuana, shortly after I came out," he recalls. "I struggled to find community in person, so I had a lot of online friends. There was a certain sense of safety in being behind a screen. One of those friends was a gay man from St. Petersburg, Russia and we've been friends for about 10 years now."

The casting challenge was immense—finding a Russian actor who could embody Maksim's journey. But fate intervened when they discovered Petr Filimonov, whose life closely mirrored that of his fictional character. Like Maksim, Filimonov had been arrested for opposing the Ukraine war and was targeted for being gay. He fled to Mexico, where he now resides.

"In our second interview with him, Petr was visibly emotional, with tears in his eyes. He said: 'I'm Maksim. I've traveled all this way because this is a story you wrote, without even knowing me.'"

Busto added, "It was incredibly powerful to watch him and know that, even though this was fiction, his heart and his own experiences were right there in the film."

Real-World Mirrors in Fiction

The film's realism extended beyond casting. The Casa de Luz refugee shelter featured in the movie had a real-life parallel that was almost too compelling to be true. The founder's personal experience mirrored the story of the film—falling in love with a Russian man who came to the shelter in a situation similar to the one depicted. After Trump's administration deported him to Egypt, she spent months tracking him through various countries before they eventually got married and reconnected just days before filming began.

This synchronicity underscores how Tijuana, Todavía is not just a work of fiction but a deeply human reflection of our shared experiences and struggles. It's a powerful reminder that stories don't always need to be written—they can be lived.

Challenging the Status Quo

As queer filmmakers, Gutiérrez Morales and Busto are acutely aware of the threats facing their community. "We are particularly concerned by the constant threats to our community and that is why we want to counter with this film and establish a dialogue," Busto explained.

This sentiment is even more poignant in light of recent news that the Italian Ministry of Culture, now under a right-wing government, was not going to support the Queer Lion for the first time in its 20-year history. Yet Tijuana, Todavía stands as a testament to the resilience and courage of queer artists worldwide.

A Film with Heart and Soul

Produced by Fosfo Producciones and distributed in Mexico by Colmena, the film also stars Miry Rodríguez, Dilan Rivera, Elliot Roy Rensky, and Jorge Domínguez Cerdá. Despite its modest budget, it manages to tell a complex story with nuance, depth, and emotional authenticity.

"To add to what Humberto was saying, we felt the need to tell this story and we had the real-life background for it," Gutiérrez Morales said. "But then the question became: why set a film like this at the border in Tijuana? Why make the protagonist a Russian refugee? The border has been part of conversations around immigration for years. But especially since Trump's presidency, it's often portrayed almost like a war zone. What you rarely get to see is the border from the other side. That always felt absurd to me because Tijuana is where I grew up."

The Future of Queer Cinema

As we continue to navigate global challenges and shifting political landscapes, films like Tijuana, Todavía offer a beacon of hope. They remind us that even in the darkest moments, stories can bridge divides and bring people together.

This is not just about telling the story of refugees or queer individuals—it's about celebrating the humanity in every character, whether on screen or off. It's a call to action, an invitation to empathize, and a demand for representation that reflects the diversity of our world.

And perhaps most importantly, it's proof that with passion, dedication, and a little bit of luck, even the smallest budgets can produce the most profound narratives.