• The 20th edition of Ambulante will visit Baja California from May 2-9, 2025..
  • Ambulante's tour of Tijuana, Ensenada, and Tecate includes more than 70 activities, including creenings, workshops, and special events most of which are free and feature numerous artists from the region.
  • The Baja California program Baja California is now available in the event’s catalog. en el programa de mano.

Tijuana, Baja California, México.- This May 2nd, the 20th edition of the Ambulante Documentary Tour begins in Baja California. More than More than 70 activities will be held, including screenings, open-air screenings, master classes, Q&As, mediations, book presentations, workshops, and a gathering of documentary filmmakers from the region. These activities will be mostly free and will be spread across 17 venues in Tijuana, Ensenada, and Tecate. The Baja California Tour concludes on May 9th.

The film program is made up of ten sections: Pulsos (an overview of Mexican documentary feature films) Intersecciones (contemporary international documentary cinema) Resistencias (with a focus on justice, resilience, and the defense of human rights) 20 Years of Travel on the High Seas (unmissable re-releases of iconic films from two decades of the Tour) Retrovisor (focused on films that bring the film archive to life) Sonidero (a tribute to resonances, sound, and music) Ambulantito (a section dedicated to younger viewers)Invocaciones (a retrospective “Oleajes: los gestos del mar,” dedicated to the link between documentary film and the sea), Injerto (“El arte de lo real,” a show dedicated to avant-garde cinema) Coordenadas Baja California (Mexican films from this region).

The opening screening will be on Friday, May 2nd at 7:00 PM at the Tijuana House of Culture (IMAC) (Av. París 5, corner of Lisboa, Altamira neighborhood) with a screening of ¡Vivan las antípodas!(Long Live the Antipodes!), in which iconic director Victor Kossakovsky embarks on a unique journey connecting four points on the planet with their exact antipodes, such as Shanghai and Entre Ríos. Through stunning images, he reveals unexpected connections, constructing a fascinating kaleidoscope that transforms our view of the world and its geographical relationships. Admission to this screening is free, with limited capacity.

The special activities taking place in Baja California are:

Masterclass + Workshop | Narrative in the Making: Editing as Documentary Writing

This masterclass, presented by experienced filmmaker and editor Valentina Leduc, explores editing as a key tool in the construction of documentary narrative: the rhythm, structure, and meaning of a film. Editing defines the creative, ethical, and political tone in non-fiction film. The class will be held in the Video Room of the Tijuana Cultural Center (Cecut) on Saturday, May 3rd, 2025, at 4:00 PM. It is free with limited seating. On Sunday, May 4th, 2025, at 11:00 AM, in Room 7 of the Tijuana Cultural Center (Cecut), Valentina Leduc herself will offer advice and review cuts of selected documentary projects. To participate, it is essential to register in advance at the following link and be accepted into the selection process.

Masterclass + Workshop | International Fundraising for Documentary Film: Strategies from Firelight Media

This masterclass is an introduction to the strategies and approaches needed to access international funding in the field of documentary film. Drawing on Firelight Media's experience, key tools for fundraising and preparing solid proposals will be shared. The conference will take place in the Video Room of the Tijuana Cultural Center (Cecut) on Wednesday, May 7th, 2025, at 4:00 PM. It is open to the public with limited capacity. On Thursday, May 8th, 2025, at 11:00 AM, there will be a workshop led by Firelight Media where participants will receive advice on their own projects. This activity requires free registration and acceptance into the selection process.

Documentary Filmmakers' Meeting

Documentary filmmakers from the region will meet, share creative processes, local production experiences, and reflect on the challenges and opportunities of documentary filmmaking in decentralized contexts. The event will take place in the Carlos Monsiváis Room of the Tijuana Film Library (Cecut) on Friday, May 2nd, 2025, at 5:30 p.m., open to the public until capacity is reached.

Workshop | Project Development

This workshop is aimed at filmmakers in the early or intermediate stages of development who are seeking to refine the structure, narrative approach, and viability of their projects. Tools to strengthen the creative proposal, the aesthetic universe, and the key components of a project dossier will be explored. This workshop, taught by Ilana Coleman, consists of two sessions that will take place in the Conference Room of the Rubén Vizcaíno University Theater, UABC, on Thursday, May 8th and Friday, May 9th, 2025, at 4:00 p.m. To participate, you must register in advance and be accepted into the selection process free of charge at the following link, y ser aceptado en el proceso de selección.

Q&As a space in which a filmmaker or protagonist joins us after the screening of their film to answer questions from the audience. Among the filmmakers accompanying the Tour are: Rodrigo Guardiola, musician from Zoé and director of the film Zoé: PanoramasValentina Leduc, director of Los sueños que compartimosGrace Lee, director of Siempre seremos jóvenesas well as regional directors such as Ana Andrade, Alejandro Montalvo, and the directors of Carnalismo and Fantasmas con armas.

Screening + discussion | Bodies in Resistance: The Digital Image as a Terrain of Collective Struggle

After the screening of Diary of My Sextortion (Ilyas Yourish, Shahrokh Bikaran, 2024), UNHCR collaborators will reflect on how ways of living, weaving community, and claiming dignity are built in contexts of forced mobility: what it means to seek refuge, belong, and resist in a territory marked by migration. Thursday, May 8th, 2025, at 5:00 PM in the Carlos Monsiváis Room of the Tijuana Film Library (Cecut). Free, limited seating.

Screening + discussion | Living Border

After the screening of Kamay (Ilyas Yourish, Shahrokh Bikaran, 2024), UNHCR collaborators will reflect on how ways of living, weaving community, and claiming dignity are built in contexts of forced mobility: what it means to seek refuge, belong, and resist in a territory marked by migration. Thursday, May 8th, 2025, at 5:00 PM in the Carlos Monsiváis Room of the Tijuana Film Library (Cecut). Free, limited seating.

Presentation | Ambulante Ediciones: The Printed Dimension of Cinema

A commitment to translating the pulse of documentary film into the language of print. A publishing space that accompanies and extends the questions of cinema, overflowing the screen to inhabit other sensitive territories. In this presentation, we will share the publications that have emerged from this initiative: books that think, feel, and walk alongside the documentary. With the participation of Lorena Gómez Mostajo, Juan Apodaca, and Pepe Rojo, this presentation will take place at Ediciones Caradura Cafeteoría on Monday, May 5th, 2025, at 4:00 PM. Admission is free with limited seating.

Not to be missed | Musical accompaniment: Abba: Against All Odds Abba: contra todo pronóstico

At the end of the screening of Abba: contra todo pronósticothe Estorninos Advanced Choir will perform some songs by the Swedish group, under the artistic direction of M.S.C. Daria Abreu. Sunday, May 4th, 2025, at 1:00 PM in the Carlos Monsiváis Room of the Tijuana Film Library (Cecut). Free, limited seating.

Water Session

The sessions are a series of activities with different formats, held at a single location, on a single day, and centered around a central theme. This sessions are free and will take place at the Santo Tomás Cultural Center on Sunday, May 4th, 2025, with the following itinerary:

- 4:00 PM | Hermosa Beach Cleanup

Meeting point: 7-Eleven on the beach.

- 6:00 PM | Film Ride

Meeting point: 7-Eleven on the beach. We will head to the Santo Tomás Cultural Center. Facilitated by: Colectivo Ensenada se Mueve

- 7:00 PM | Discussion "On Alert: The Impact of Megaprojects on Territories"

Talk exploring how development and extractivism megaprojects profoundly affect territories, the communities that inhabit them, and local ecosystems.

-8:00 PM | Screening Yintah (B. Michell, M. Toledano, J. Wickham, 2024)

Mediationsaccompaniment dynamics designed to stimulate audience reactions and deepen their encounter with the films, will take place at the Tijuana House of Culture (IMAC). The documentaries accompanied by mediation are:

  • La libertad de Fierro, facilitated by Miroslava Wilson, participant in the experimental workshop "Sustaining Processes of Social Trauma through Art," on Tuesday, May 6th at 6:00 PM.
  •  Palestina bailafacilitated by Ambulante, on Thursday, May 8th at 6:00 PM.

The festival will be held at 17 venues In Tijuana: Amphitheater of the Baja California Institute of Culture; Tijuana Cultural Center (Cecut); Cinépolis Plaza Río; El Trompo: Tijuana Interactive Museum; Antiguo Cine Bujazán, Observatorio Centro de Estudios Cinematográficos (OCEC); Tijuana House of Culture, Municipal Institute of Art and Culture (IMAC); Ediciones Caradura Cafetería; Autonomous University of Baja California (UABC); and Caja Negra, State Center for the Arts (CEART). In Ensenada State Center for the Arts (CEART); Santo Tomás Cultural Center; Caracol Science Museum; and Autonomous University of Baja California (UABC), Ensenada Campus. In Tecate Caja Negra, State Center for the Arts (CEART); Miguel Hidalgo Park; Autonomous University of Baja California (UABC), Tecate Campus; and Autonomous University of Baja California (UABC), Valle de las Palmas Campus.

From May 2nd to the 7th, the Documentary Film Tour will screen a selection of feature films at Cinépolis Plaza Río, through the Cinépolis® Art Room. For Documentary Film Tour fans, Cinépolis will offer the traditional Cinebono (Cinebono) at a cost of $200 pesos for four tickets, as well as a special price of $75 pesos for individual tickets.

To learn about all the tour's activities in Baja California—including films, program routes, venues, and schedules—check out the program and visit ambulante.org.