El Desierto, film, 19 minutes
Amid a formidable winter drought, a lone migrant worker struggles with his task of caring for thousands of sheep in the Great Basin desert. El Desierto poetically explores themes of isolation, climate change, and the Sisyphean plight of migrant workers in the United States. Winner of the Artistic Vision Award at the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, Jury Prize from RiverRun Film Festival, and Best of Show & Utah Short Film of the Year through the Utah Arts Festival, 2019.
“Documentaries walk the line between journalism and artistic expression. We the jury would like to recognize El Desierto for the cinematography and original music score which made for an unforgettable cinema experience.”
-Special Jury Prize - RiverRun Film Festival 2019
"This film speaks volumes without saying a word. The film is stunning and spare. The verité cinematography and attention to intimate spaces communicated much about human isolation, climate struggles and the life of migrant workers and the intersection therein. It was a bold artistic vision to exclude dialogue that paid off. An exemplary use of cinema to convey anguish-both environmental and human, EL DESIERTO is proof that a telling documentary does not necessarily need words to underscore its point."
-Shorts Artistic Vision Award, Big Sky Film Festival 2019
La Sabana, film, 11 minutes
The promise of the American Dream is real to one rural Peruvian family as they attempt to send their son to The United States to provide for them. La Sabana meditates on the archetypal movement of people and their dreams of a better life. Nominated for Best Short Documentary at St. Louis International Film Festival 2017.
About the Filmmakers
Carly Jakins is passionate about filmmaking and has a background in Sociocultural Anthropology. Her collaborative debut, Ghosts on the Mountain, was the short documentary award winner at the American Society for Visual Anthropology and Heartland Film Festival in 2014. She has since produced several award-winning short documentaries.
Jared Jakins is a South African-born documentary filmmaker. He has directed and produced multiple award-winning films, including Ghosts on the Mountain (2014) and La Sabana (2016). Jakins has worked on multiple feature-length films, including directing/producing Modifying Reality (BYUtv 2018), camera/assistant editor on the SXSW Grand Jury and Audience Award-winning film, Peace Officer (2015) and has served on the jury for the shorts film competition at The Heartland Film Festival. Jakins is interested in stories of cultural intersections, and seeks to document images of community and identity emerging from these collisions.