TransfronterizX: A documentary film about queerness in the U.S. - Mexico borderlands

Every summer, the Bill Lane Center sponsors student research projects. Students have the option of designing their own project or joining pre-existing Bill Lane Center research. With an interest in film and border histories, Victor Meza ‘25 created a self-designed project that explored queer histories in the U.S.–Mexico borderlands through the creation of a short experimental documentary.

Student: Victor Meza ‘25, Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity 
Mentor: Usha Iyer (Art/Art History)

Project Description:
In this project, Victor set out to explore and document the often invisible histories of queer people at the border while reflecting on their own relationship to the borderland region in which they were raised.

The project involved producing a short experimental documentary that functions as a counter-archive, challenging the limitations of traditional historical records. Through conversations with community members, visits to art galleries, and archival research, Victor gathered stories and materials that speak to the lived experiences of queer individuals in the region. This research was complemented by a sustained, personal engagement with the Chihuahuan desert, where militarization shapes both movement and identity. By weaving together personal narrative, community voices, and visual documentation, the project reimagines what it means to search for histories that are often ignored or difficult to access. The resulting film highlights the ways queer individuals in the borderlands navigate visibility, expression, and safety within a landscape defined by control and erasure, offering an alternative archive grounded in lived experience and creative practice.