'Beyond' (Más Allá) Wins Best U.S. Latino Live Action Short at LALIFF

 Bettina López Mendoza’s Beyond (Más Allá) Wins Best U.S. Latino Live Action Short at Los Angeles Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF) 

Vancouver-based Omatidio Media is pleased to announce that Venezuelan storyteller and filmmaker, Bettina López Mendoza’s BEYOND (MÁS ALLÁ) has won “Best U.S. Latino Live Action Short” at the Latino International Film Festival (LALIFF). The award, presented by Comcast NBCUniversal Telemundo, was accepted by the team during the closing night reception held at The Kookaburra Lounge in Ovation Hollywood on June 1, 2025. The Latino Film Institute (LFI) announced the 2025 award winners on Sunday, honoring excellence across U.S. Latino film, animation, and episodic storytelling. 

MÁS ALLÁ is a coming-of-age tale about a young girl who guides migrants through a stretch of the Darien Gap – a virgin jungle between Colombia and Panamá, which has become a footpath for human migration. Forced to abandon her childhood to survive this treacherous place, Zuli works for a coyote who exploits her with false promises. But when she stumbles on a portal which transports her to a magical land, Zuli is driven to reconnect with her innocence and her imagination, ultimately learning to be a kid again.

“Inspired by children's capacity to find joy in the most ordinary, sometimes devastating places, this film reframes migration not as an act of desperation, but as one of bold imagination,” says Mendoza. “It’s a love letter to the children within all of us, and an ode to all of those who have ever been brave enough to imagine a better life.”

MÁS ALLÁ, which is a US, Canada, and Colombia co-production, is produced by Omatidio Media, co-produced by Colombian co-producer Querida and was shot on location in Colombia. The film was written, directed, and produced by Bettina López Mendoza, with Marilyne Lamontagne (Heriloom, The Deep) as producer, and Ana Katalina Carmona as co-producer. Camilo Monsalve Ossa, ADFC (Rauw Alejandro: Touching the Sky) is DOP, Editor is Monica Salazar (Honey Boy, Bardo: The Chronicle of a Handful of Truths), Composer is Abiram Brizuela (Maniac Miki), the Casting Director is Carolina Ceballos (Espiral Creativos) and Executive Producers include: Chelo Mendoza Demetri Tongas, Evelyn López Mendoza, Frederik Mueller, Maria Kalomenidou, Yannis Skoufalos, Susana Lobo Jorge Mesquita, Alana O'Grady, Lauk Leon Lauk, and Morgana Duque. The film stars Dairl Hernández López, Alicia Reyes Londoño (Alicia y la marea,) and Jhony Osorio Montaño. LALIFF was the film's US premiere. 

MÁS ALLÁ was made possible with the support of more than fifty private financial contributors, as well as partnerships with Vaudeville Sound, Kickstart Entertainment, Vérité Entertainment, Picture Shop, and Pixelloid studio.
 

At Omatidio Media, we’re driven by a simple yet powerful motto: We are seeking where no one else is looking. Like the compound eyes of the mantis shrimp—our namesake—we perceive what others might miss, discovering vibrant nuances and untold possibilities within every project. Based in Vancouver, BC, Omatidio Media stands at the intersection of creativity, collaboration, and getting sh** done. We are committed to pioneering new solutions for filmmakers and storytellers, celebrating creative impulses and championing talent wherever we find it. At Omatidio Media, we’re not just here to tell stories; we’re here to redefine how they’re told. omatidio.ca

Director Bettina López Mendoza Bio: Having spent her childhood moving across borders, first to Mexico and then to the United States, Bettina has always been fascinated by reality as a subjective construct. Her work often centers on overlooked or forgotten characters who challenge their own realities and the limits the world imposes on them. Despite her stories being grounded, she readily employs magical realism to connect with the audience in unexpected ways.

After graduating from the University of Southern California, she worked with and was mentored by director Michael Gracey (The Greatest Showman). It was during this time that Bettina learned how to push the limits of cinematic storytelling through visual language. Most recently, Bettina served as a co-writer on the animated film Ladybug & Cat Noir: The Movie (Netflix 2023), and the writer-director of Ambie Award winning fiction podcast PREVIA: A Tech Heist (Audible 2023), starring Alan Cumming and Melissa Fumero.

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