Angeli Rose Gomez, a mother who rescued her children during the 2022 Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, and Anayansi Prado, a documentary filmmaker, created a film exploring the tragedy and its aftermath. Gomez and Prado sat down with The Daily Texan to discuss the making of “Uvalde Mom,” which premiered at SXSW on Monday night.
The Daily Texan: With Austin being the epicenter of state government, how does it feel to have this film premiere at South By Southwest?
Anayansi Prado: Being here in the capital is really powerful because although the film is a personal portrait of (Gomez), it’s also a film that looks at issues of gun control, failures of the law enforcement system, and also a faulty criminal law system. So it’s really powerful to be here, to be able to showcase her story and those important issues.
DT: What do you hope audiences will take away from “Uvalde Mom”?
AP: At the core of it, the documentary is about a mother who did a very courageous act to save her child. I think any parent would relate to that. I’d like for people to be able to connect to the human behind the story and then to be able to question the failures (of) the criminal justice and law enforcement system (on) the day of the tragedy … the failure within the town to the Mexican American community, and then the failure to (Gomez) herself. … We start to question the systems that are there to serve and protect. If they’re not there to serve and protect, what are they there for?
DT: How do you go about protecting your mental health while working on the documentary and revisiting a lot of these issues?
Angeli Rose Gomez: It was hard at times, but we would just maneuver our way around it. If I wasn’t feeling up to it, then I wasn’t feeling up to it. (Prado) just worked her way around me. She just helped me get through the process too, by finding a therapist. She just helped me with the whole challenge of the film.
DT: How do you hope people will connect with your personal story?AG: I was nervous at first to give my private life. … I just hope (audiences) feel inspired against gun violence. I hope they feel courageous when they watch it. I hope they think (of) what my community went through and that we’re still going through it, and they don’t forget about it.
