Traces of Home
About the Film
Delving into the past and not shying away from the dug-up pain, a young filmmaker speaks to her Mexican mother and Palestinian father about their trying journeys into the United States, hoping to heal their generational trauma.
Director: Colette Ghunim
Producers: Sara Maamouri, Dan Rybicky, Capella Fahoome
United States // 2025 // Documentary // Los Features
93 minutes
About the Filmmaker
As a documentary filmmaker and nonprofit co-founder, Colette Ghunim’s soul purpose is to use the power of film and storytelling for those oppressed around the world to be seen, to be heard, and to heal. Her first documentary, The People’s Girls (2016), received over 2 million views and won Best Short Documentary at the Arab Film Festival for its bold spotlight on street harassment in Egypt. In co-production with Kartemquin Films and funded by Latino Public Broadcasting, she is directing Traces of Home, her first feature-length film documenting her inner quest to find home through unearthing her parent’s forced migrations from Mexico and Palestine. Colette is also the co-founder of Mezcla Media Collective, a nonprofit organization aimed to cultivate a thriving landscape for over 700 women and non-binary filmmakers of color in Chicago. Her work has been highlighted on international outlets such as Huffington Post, Al Jazeera, Univision, and TEDx. Colette was selected as a 2023 Obama Foundation USA Leader, 2024 Sundance Institute x ISF Fellow, and was featured on Arab America’s “30 Under 30” list.
