Nahui Olin
a film by Melissa Eidson
Why We're Backing Nahui Olin
Nahui Olin was a painter, poet, artist model and early feminist who scandalized 1920s Mexico by insisting — loudly, defiantly, at great personal cost — that women were full human beings. She posed for Diego Rivera. She wrote love letters that burned. She broke every rule a woman of her era was expected to follow. And then history did what it so often does to women who take up too much space: it tried to erase her.
This production is not letting that happen.
Nahui Olin: Cosmic Vision is a hybrid documentary, narrative, and experimental film that brings Nahui's letters, poetry, paintings, and photographs back to life — weaving together imagined scenes, archival material, and an older Nahui reckoning with the full arc of her life. It is being filmed across Mexico City, Veracruz, San Miguel de Allende, Querétaro, and Valle de Bravo, and it is exactly as ambitious as it sounds.
This is the kind of film that could only be made by someone who understands what it means to fight to be seen. Melissa is a filmmaker and professor at Pratt Institute whose work centers the interior lives of women — and in Nahui, she has found a subject whose story is both singular and urgently familiar.
Your donation is tax-deductible through Moonshot Initiative, and every dollar goes directly toward finishing this film. Help us make sure Nahui Olin's voice carries into the next century.
Watch the trailer:
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About the Filmmaker
Melissa (Eme) Eidson is a hybrid filmmaker known for documentaries El Barrio, No Son Invisibles/They Are Not Invisible, Slow Fashion as well as the short film Aura . Her films focus on cultural issues, social justice, and feminist matters. El Barrio was screened at the Berlin Film Festival and many others, winning best documentary in NYIFF. No Son Invisibles/They Are Not Invisible is streaming on Alexander Street in the Ethnographic Collection. Slow Fashion, which won best healing documentary at Manhattan Film Festival 2022, is streaming at Docsville and The Filmmaker's Cooperative in New York City. Aura, her short film won best experimental film in Cannes 2023. @emestudiofilms
Meet The Team
Angie McAstle
Actor
Isabelle Manhes
Actor
Steven Michael
Actor
Anuar Soda
Actor
Iona Michael
Actor
Javier García Barrera
Actor
Alejandro Ruiz
Actor and A.C.
A 31-year-old native of the port city of Veracruz, he is a photographer, dancer, classical and contemporary dance instructor, and independent artist. He earned a bachelor’s degree in Municipal and Comprehensive Dance, and since then has dedicated his career to sharing art through the body and the gaze. He currently works independently, teaching classes and workshops, with the firm intention of creating spaces where movement serves as a tool for expression, freedom, and self-discovery.
Alejandro Blazquez
Additional DP
Alejandro Blázquez De Nicolás is a Mexico City–based cinematographer and producer, trained at NYU Tisch under Mark Raker. He is the founder and General Director of Celuloide Films S.A. de C.V., an independent production company spanning original production, theatrical distribution, and international digital aggregation. His work includes long-standing brand collaborations with Nike México since 2007 — recognized with a Cannes Lion for the Nike City Cup 2010 broadcast — and the Canal 22 series Música Maestro (2017–2018), featuring Armando Manzanero. His producing credits include El Caballero Águila (2024), selected at over 60 festivals, winning Best Picture at the Hollywood Gold Awards and Best Cinematography at the Eurovisión Festival Geneva.
Omar Monroy
Additional DP
Omar Monroy is a Mexican cinematographer, producer, and founder of Espacio Cuatro Audiovisual, a production company based in San Miguel de Allende, Mexico. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Communication Sciences from Universidad del Valle de México and completed continuing education studies in Digital Filmmaking at the School of Visual Arts in New York. He began his career producing cultural content for Mexico's Ministry of Culture before joining Canal Once as a production assistant. In 2015, he founded Espacio Cuatro Audiovisual, leading commercial, documentary, institutional and narrative productions. Monroy is also a partner at SURÉ Media and co-producer of TED Calle Aldama, where he oversees the event's audiovisual production, including lighting, cameras, sound, and
technical direction. He has produced campaigns for multiple government agencies across the State of Guanajuato and collaborated with premium hospitality, wine and luxury brands, with fashion films featured in Vogue México and campaigns for British label Paper London. His work includes the documentary Con Alma with Magos Herrera, numerous short films, live music productions with Buena Vista Social Club, Magos Herrera, Gil Gutiérrez, Bob Stern, and David Rodríguez, as well as Assistant Director work on Luis Miguel's music video La Fiesta del Mariachi.technical direction. He has produced campaigns for multiple government agencies across the State of Guanajuato and collaborated with premium hospitality, wine and luxury brands, with fashion films featured in Vogue México and campaigns for British label Paper London. His work includes the documentary Con Alma with Magos Herrera, numerous short films, live music productions with Buena Vista Social Club, Magos Herrera, Gil Gutiérrez, Bob Stern, and David Rodríguez, as well as Assistant Director work on Luis Miguel's music video La Fiesta del Mariachi.
Emilia Carbajal
Editor
Emilia Carbajal is a Mexican-American filmmaker, editor, sound designer, and interdisciplinary artist based in Brooklyn, New York. Her work is often focused on emotional, character-driven stories, with explorations into genres such as narratives, documentary, video art, animation, and observational films. Her work often toes the lines between genres, working in hybrid spaces blending fiction, nonfiction, and experimental styles together. Her work has screened at various film festivals and screenings, including BAM Rose Cinemas, Lift-Off Film Festival, Wallabout Film Festival, and the Princeton Student Film Festival.
Rogelio Sosa
Sound Designer
Rogelio Sosa is a Mexican composer, sound artist, and interdisciplinary creator who crafts immersive film scores and sound works that blend acoustic, electronic, and electroacoustic techniques to explore memory, territory, perception, and cinematic emotion. Trained in electronic and computer-assisted composition at UPIC and IRCAM and holding an M.A. in Music and Technology from the University of Paris VIII, he has two decades of experience scoring feature films, documentaries, and experimental projects—collaborating with numerous Latin American filmmakers—and in 2024 made his debut as director-composer with Manantial. His music has been presented across the Americas, Europe, and Asia, released on respected international labels, showcased at major festivals (Venice, Berlinale, Morelia, FICUNAM), and recognized with awards and fellowships including Mexico’s National Youth Arts Award, the Luigi Russolo Prize, grants from Ibermúsicas and Cultura UNAM, and multiple appointments to Mexico’s National System of Art Creators.