An aspiring social worker, Pedro faces restrictions as a blind, undocumented immigrant to get his college degree. But when attaining his dreams leads to new challenges, what will Pedro do? Using experimental cinematography, unseen reimagines film accessibility through an audio-centric experience.

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Film Independent Spirit Award Laurel: 2024 Truer Than Fiction Award
Icon for IDA Documentary Awards 39. Shortlist.
Laurel for Bentonville Film Festival Honorable Mention Jury Award Documentary Feature 2024
Film Festival Laurel for CAAMFest 2023 Documentary Award
Laurel for Cleveland International Film Festival Groundbreaker Award
Film Festival Laurel for Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival 2023 Audience Award
Film Festival Laurel for Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival 2023 Emerging Filmmaker Award
Film Festival Laurel for Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival 2023 Special Jury Mention Documentary Feature
Laurel for Philadelphia Asian American Film Festival. 2023 Vijay Mohan Social Change Award
Laurel for Woodstock Film Festival Leon Gast Award Best Feature Documentary - Nominee
Laurel for Active Vista Human Rights Festival 2023
Laurel for Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. Official Selection 2024.
Laurel for 2023 Blackstar Film Festival
Laurel for 2023 Buffalo International Film Festival
Laurel for 2023 CineFest Latino Boston
Laurel for DOC NYC 2023
Laurel for Doctober Film Festival
Laurel for DOCUTAH International Film Festival. Official Selection 2024.
Laurel for 2023 Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival
Laurel for NewFilmmakers Los Angeles
Laurel for Queer Women of Color Film Festival
Laurel for 31st San Diego Latino Film Festival. Media Arts Center San Diego. Official Selection 2024.
Laurel for Seattle Asian American Film Festival. Official Selection 2024.
Laurel for Society for Visual Anthropology Film & Media Festival
Laurel for Windsor International Film Festival
Laurel for 2023 Woods Hole Film Festival
HotDocs Festival Laurel which reads, Official Selection Hot Docs 2023. Outspoken. Outstanding.
Laurel for The Fine Arts Film Festival in Venice, California 2024
Laurel for Houston Asian American & Pacific Islander Film Festival 2024

"AN IMPORTANT FILM IN THE DISABILITY FILM CANON" – James Lebrecht, Oscar-nominated filmmaker

"A COMPELLING PORTRAIT" - The Movie Buff

"A MUST WATCH" – The Philadelphia Inquirer

"POETIC... A ROUSING FILM THAT'S UNAFRAID" – Billy Penn at WHYY

"A TOUCHING SLICE-OF-LIFE STORY" – All of It at WNYC

“A HEARTFUL LOOK AT WHAT IT MEANS TO OVERCOME ONE’S FEARS” - FilmSnobReviews

"A MAGNIFICENT FILM IN EVERY WAY” - Amy Goodman, Democracy Now

“A RARE GLIMPSE… UNIQUE” - Film Threat

"AN IMPORTANT FILM IN THE DISABILITY FILM CANON" – James Lebrecht, Oscar-nominated filmmaker "A COMPELLING PORTRAIT" - The Movie Buff "A MUST WATCH" – The Philadelphia Inquirer "POETIC... A ROUSING FILM THAT'S UNAFRAID" – Billy Penn at WHYY "A TOUCHING SLICE-OF-LIFE STORY" – All of It at WNYC “A HEARTFUL LOOK AT WHAT IT MEANS TO OVERCOME ONE’S FEARS” - FilmSnobReviews "A MAGNIFICENT FILM IN EVERY WAY” - Amy Goodman, Democracy Now “A RARE GLIMPSE… UNIQUE” - Film Threat

Upcoming Screenings

Interviews

Set Hernandez wins the 2024 Truer Than Fiction Award | Film Independent Spirit Awards

IDA FallDocs | unseen | Q&A Panel with Set Hernandez and Pedro

Democracy Now! | Interview with Set Hernandez

Reviews

“A rare glimpse into a world entirely unknown to most people… a unique insight into allowing those who are disabled to follow their dreams and desiresunseen is a title with many meanings—blindness, undocumented, social change, and more… However, what is most important about unseen is that it should be seen.”

Sabina Dana Plasse
FILM THREAT

“A touching slice-of-life story that adds a refreshing and nuanced perspective into the immigrant experience.”

Kousha Navidar
ALL OF IT, WNYC

unseen offers poetic snapshots of Pedro’s quotidian, extraordinary, and existential moments, with the aim of exploring the intersection of disability, undocumented status, and mental health. The end result is a rousing film that’s unafraid to grapple with the ambivalence, anger, and acceptance that Pedro processes through the highs and lows of his particularly interesting journey.”

Jordan Levy
BILLY PENN, WHYY

“A compelling portrait of a resilient individual pursuing a better life despite his situation, unseen aims to transcend sociopolitics with its narrative and instead focus on the humanity of its subject. And in more ways than one, the film pulls it off.”

Paul Emmanuel Enicola
THE MOVIE BUFF

“Hernandez starts out looking at the world through Pedro’s eyes, visually replicating the haziness that is part of Pedro’s condition and slyly emphasizes a greater reliance on the other senses that he has to lean on to get by in his daily routine, but the film grows clearer in more ways than one when the realization sets in that they share the same view, a type of clarity that’s bound to come to many more.”

Stephen Saito,
THE MOVEABLE FEST

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