‘Roads of Fire’ Screens at Mill Valley Film Festival, Explores Humanitarian Crisis

MILL VALLEY, CA — A film that will present three inspiring perspectives intertwined in a growing humanitarian emergency will screen Oct. 10 and 11 at the Mill Valley Film Festival.

Nathaniel Lezra’s “Roads of Fire” weaves together three stories: a refugee smuggler traversing the Darién Gap, a New York-based asylum seeker piecing her life back together, and frontline volunteers responding to a growing humanitarian crisis.

“Mostly I found that people were eager to express themselves,” Lezra told Patch. “Given how politicized stories of migration have become, and how little control refugees and migrants have over their stories and experiences. An important function the film performed was giving them a microphone, letting people take control of their narratives and present their experiences on their terms.”

The film offers an unvarnished, compassionate depiction of the worldwide migration crisis, highlighting themes of resilience and survival amidst immense adversity.

“It takes a tremendous amount of courage to speak on camera, and it was a bravery I was continuously humbled by throughout filming,” Lezra told Patch.

“Roads of Fire,” winner of the 2025 Santa Barbara International Film Festival's Best Documentary Feature and the Brooklyn Film Festival's Audience Award, is directed by Lezra, a California-native and award-winning Latino director and producer that has been celebrated for his humanist stories that shed light on extreme experiences outside the norms of contemporary culture. His recent work includes directing and executive producing “Don’t Leave Me Behind: Stories of Young Ukrainian Survival" for MTV and Paramount. He also has a background in directing and producing commercial campaigns for major brands.

“The most rewarding thing has been the relationships and memories I have from production, but also specifically the road in Colombia. These relationships become very real when the film demands the level of intimacy we needed,” Lezra told Patch. “To showcase the asylum journey, we had to shoot at odd hours, we needed to be with people while they were alone, processing incredible hardship and trauma. We came out on the other side of that as close friends.”

As the national and Californian immigration debate escalates, Lezra’s film offers a human perspective beyond the policy discussions. He is able to speak passionately about the harsh realities of forced migration, the ethical considerations of sharing these narratives, and the remarkable resilience he observed firsthand.

“Migrants and refugees are human beings with aspirations, goals, and skills, and deserve to be treated with dignity and with the understanding that they are fleeing for a reason,” Lezra told Patch. “People are here to restart their lives and provide for their kids, and that means sustaining work, paying taxes, and pushing revenue back into our economic system. And this isn’t even to mention what they bring to this country culturally, a contribution that is enormous and goes back to the original intention of this country. We are a country of immigrants for immigrants by immigrants, and that our strength is in our diversity of backgrounds.”

“Roads of Fire” was produced by Malcolm Bird and Joél Inchaustegui, executive produced by Nicole Tao, David Wu, Malcolm Bird, Nathaniel Lezra, and Benjamin Wellington, and edited by Benjamin Wellington.