The 24th Municipal Administration of Tijuana led by mayor Montserrat Caballero Ramírez, in coordination with the government of Baja California, encouraged people to attend the Global Migration Film Festival which is organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in order to reveal and highlight the positive impact of this part of the population and raise awareness about the reasons why they migrate.

The head of the Municipal Agency of Migrant Assistance (DMAM), Enrique Lucero Vázquez, revealed that this event will take place in Mexico for the 6th time and for 3rd time in Tijuana as a space of reflection and empathy for immigrant people who are coming to this border.

Lucero Vázquez highlighted the collaborative work of authorities and international organizations in raising awareness about respecting people who are immigrating and the opening of spaces that allow them to be a part of the workforce of the border city.

María José Juárez, chief of the IOM Office in Tijuana, stated that as part of this festival the movie "Espiral" will be shown in Tijuana on Thursday, November 17 at 6 PM at the old Cine Bujazán.

The festival is taking place in different cities such as Mexico City, Tijuana, Ciudad Juárez, Mexicali, Hermosillo, San Luis Río Colorado, Monterrey, Guadalajara, Guanajuato, Querétaro, Puebla, Villahermosa, Tapachul, and with a special show at El Paso, Texas. There will be 18 free showings open to the public at large.

In these movies issues such as the return of immigrants, integration of receiving communities, disappearances, risks and effects of irregular migrations, diverse migrations (LGBTIQ community), and family reunifications are addressed.

She emphasized the importance of this festival's venues as they allow to open spaces for dialogue and conversations about the reasons why people migrate, leaving their homeland behind.

With that, they are looking to develop new ways of telling stories about immigration, using cinema as a powerful tool to inform, raise awareness, and promote better understanding of needs, perspectives, and skills of the people who migrate.

Cultural spaces and universities will participate for the first time as venues of these films. Such is the case with Universidad Autónoma de Baja California (UABC), Universidad Iberoamericana Tijuana, Cineteca Carlos Monsiváis at Centro Cultural Tijuana (CECUT), and the old Cine Bujazán.

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