Watch Over Us contains a gripping emotional core and a critique of America’s justice system, but is hamstrung by the short film format.
Director: Carlos Garcia de Dios
Genre: Documentary, Drama, Short Film
Run Time: 22′
Tribeca Screening: June 6, 2025 (World Premiere)
U.S. Release Date: TBA
U.K. Release Date: TBA
It’s hard not to be won over by the raw emotionality in Watch Over Us – a short film playing in the Reflections block at the Tribeca Film Festival – but it’s almost as frustrating in its messy construction. Perhaps the greatest injustice is that the movie is confined to its 22-minute runtime, rather than expanding to feature length. Director Carlos Garcia de Dios has stumbled upon a gut-wrenching story, which doubles as a commentary on the broken justice system throughout America, but there are too many imperfections for it to stick the landing.
Victoria Lopez, the main subject of Watch Over Us, is on the verge of a seven year prison sentence for selling meth. She’s a resident of Albert Lea, Minnesota, a small town not unlike so many others across America, struggling from a lack of jobs and accessible amenities. Because of a new reform program in Minnesota, she’s been granted a year since the date of her conviction to live free before reporting to prison because she recently gave birth to twins. This ticking clock provides Watch Over Us most of its drama; no parent wants to be separated from their kids, especially not for seven years, and Victoria wears her heart on her sleeve.
Unfortunately, Garcia de Dios comes into Lopez’s story with only a few months left, so rather than documenting the entire grieving process, we just see her near the end. And rather than seeing Victoria in her everyday life, Watch Over Us only checks in occasionally. But one of the hardest parts of making a documentary is earning your subject’s trust, and Lopez is an open book on everything from her mistakes in parenting to how she got involved in drugs. Indeed, her genuine remorse hangs over the film and leads to some of its most powerful moments. One of those instances comes as Victoria recounts her deep desire to reform to the presiding judge, and their flat-out refusal to engage. Garcia de Dios complements this with Victoria’s baptism, showing that she’s turned a spiritual corner, in spite of everything stacked against her.
It’s no secret that America leads the world in incarcerations, and there have been a number of fiction and non-fiction films tackling the subject. Watch Over Us mostly puts this epidemic in the background with only the occasional commentary on how the justice system would rather punish non-violent criminals to the fullest extent than see them rehabilitated and less at risk of repeating the same mistakes.
Lopez and her family, mostly her mother and teenage daughter, are stuck in a circle of poverty with few job prospects, lack of quality education, and an unstable economy – not to mention an increase in the number of mouths to feed – but they somehow take it all in stride. There are stories just like the Lopez’s throughout every corner of America – most are surely more tragic because of the lack of similar state programs. Though Watch Over Us may not be the best execution of this story, the emotions on display are difficult to ignore.
Watch Over Us: Movie Plot & Recap
Synopsis:
Thanks to a new Minnesota program, a young mother is granted one year to raise her newborn twins before reporting to a seven-year prison sentence.
Pros:
- Director Carlos Garcia de Dios gains an intimate relationship with his subjects, leading to a number of genuine, heartfelt moments.
Cons:
- At times, the movie feels too constrained by its short film format and could conceivably be expanded to feature length.
Watch Over Us was screened at the Tribeca Film Festival on June 6, 2025 and will be screened again on June 11-14. Read our list of 20 movies to watch at the 2025 Tribeca Film Festival!
