Documentary Films and Narrative Shorts

Prodigal Daughter

Filmmaker Mabel Valdiviezo chronicles her journey as an undocumented artist making tough choices to survive in the U.S. When she returns to Peru, she confronts her past and unveils the secrets that tore her apart from her parents. Diagnosed with cancer, Mabel must find a way to open her heart, forgive her family and herself before it’s too late.

Director & Producer: Mabel Valdiviezo

Feature-length documentary in progress

Sands of Silence

Sands of Silence: Waves of Courage is a personal documentary about a filmmaker who, inspired by the transformation of the sex-trafficking survivors whose lives she is documenting, finds the courage to break the silence about sexual abuse in her own life.

Director & Producer: Chelo Alvarez-Stehle

Associate Producer: Mabel Valdiviezo

Feature-length documentary, 2018

Screened on PBS’s WORLD Channel – Doc World Series

Carlos Baron, Poeta Pan

Carlos Baron, Poeta Pan follows Carlos Baron, Bay Area multicultural theatre evangelist, who takes us on a fascinating road trip to Chile to explore love and exile through the poetry of Pablo Neruda after the death of Pinochet.

Director & Producer: Mabel Valdiviezo

Documentary short, 14 minutes, 2007

Screened on PBS at KQED’s SPARK

Soledad Is Gone Forever

Soledad Is Gone Forever is a drama that explores the long-term psychological impact of political persecution through the eyes of Soledad Gonzales, a young photographer who learns her father’s remains have been found in a mass grave in Chile.

Director & Producer: Mabel Valdiviezo

Executive Producer: Cesar Viana-Teague

Narrative short, 14 minutes, 2006

Screened at Los Angeles International Films & New York International Latino Film Festival