The internal and external lives of Joaquín Lopez—a Mexican national serving a life sentence in Iowa.
Balancing impressionistic flashbacks with a meticulous retracing of his life and the crime for which he was convicted, An American Purgatory oscillates between Joaquín's experience and that of five remarkable characters with whom he crosses paths. The series travels the dirt floor of his childhood home in rural Michoacán to the corridors of power in Iowa’s state capital—where the niece of the former Governor works to have Joaquin's case reexamined, and for the chance for Joaquín to restart the life that was interrupted that long ago Iowa night.
Request for screener of pilot episode
5-part documentary miniseries
(in post-production)
In partnership with Mosaic Films
Project Site