It is a film about the families of those who have crossed the border to the United States in search of better opportunities. A film that explores the melancholy, memories and identity of those who remain, who continue to wait, to love and to dream. A film about absence, about the families whose lives are defined by the voids emigration has created.

The Simple Things... The Stories of the Ones Who Remain

Emigration is a much-talked-about problem in Mexico, but rarely do we hear about the families of those who have crossed the border, about how emigration has affected their lives and their communities.

Emigration has an enduring impact, not just on the families who remain, but on entire communities, towns and cities. No one ever talks about this.

What happens to these broken families? How do they adapt?
What happens in these communities of childless parents and fatherless children, where wives must raise families without their husbands?
What happens in these towns that are missing half their population, abandoned by generations of young people?

The Ones Who Remain gives a voice to this silent, but very real phenomenon that affects virtually every region of Mexico. The intention was not to simply interview those affected, but to record the trials and tribulations of their daily lives. This approach has resulted in a discreet, yet authentic portrayal of their day-to-day existence. We see the characters in the film at work, at rest, at play; listen as they reveal their hopes and fears; and marvel as they share their dreams with us.

The Ones Who Remain tells "the other side" of the story.