This film explores the culture of six eldery Mexican immigrant women by revealing how they cope with being widows. A majority of the crew are Hispanic and female. It displays the richness of a culture and a female perspective behind and in front of the camera of the universal experience of loss.

'The Widows Club'

My first film as a Director, Debajo de los árboles, explored the themes of memory, the power of family, and the meaning of suffering.

As my grandfather, Pa, said in the film, “Recordar es vivir. Porque cuando uno está recordando, está viviendo esas cosas de hace 20 años.” In English, “To remember is to live. Because when one is remembering, they are reliving that time from 20 years ago in the present”.

(a scene from Debajo de los Árboles)

These words have had a powerful impact on me not only as Pa’s granddaughter but also as a filmmaker, and their abiding presence in my mind and heart have made them the natural inspiration for my next film. With Pa’s words and their meaning serving as a point of arrival and departure, we can ask ourselves: What happens when someone we love dearly passes from this earth? How do we deal with the inevitable reality of death and loss, and how do we make sense of it? How does memory connect me to a lost loved one and the life we shared?



Mourning is a very personal experience. It is often impacted and affected by culture, belief systems, life experiences, and very specifically by personality. My next film will explore the dynamics and intersections of this phenomenon and how a personal encounter with mourning and suffering can reveal and highlight aspects of this universal human experience. 'The Widows Club' is a documentary film that explores the ways in which six elderly Mexican women mourn the loss of their husbands.

( 5 out of 6 members of The Widows Club at one of their monthly lunches)



When Fidelia (the director's mother) saw how differently her mother, Maria, needed to mourn the loss of her husband Jesús, she knew that she needed to actively create a vessel of mourning for her.

(Maria and Jesús a year before he passed away)

This is how the Widows Club was born. Fidelia created a club for her mother and her mother’s cousins and friends from the same town in Mexico who had all lost their husbands. Once a month, they gather at a Mexican restaurant in the Chicagoland area for lunch to support one another, discuss their experiences, and share ways to continue living fruitful, full, and happy lives. They help each other to continue living a fulfilling life by sharing meaningful anecdotes, exchanging funny stories, and providing authentic friendship to one another. But most of all, they try to live by their club’s “Diez Mandamientos para una Vejez Feliz” or “The Ten Commandemnts to live in Happily in Your Old Age”. This film will not only explore the way these women mourn and their life after death, but it will also follow them as they try to live by these commandments that stand as a vessel for them to keep living a fruitful dignified life. Some of the “commandments” include: getting out of the house everyday and being part of society, exercise daily, do you hair and makeup, try to cultivate an optimistic outlook, keep your friendships alive, and don’t think that everything that happened in the past was better than your present, create a beautiful present moment for yourself.



These ladies are all related, immigrated with their spouses to Chicago around the same time, and still predominantly speak Spanish.

[From upper left to right: Jasmin Avila (associate producer and Music Manager), Briana Avila (associate producer and secondary music composer), Crystal Avila Floeder (Director and Producer); bottom left: Fidelia Avila (Maria's daughter, Producer and featured in film) and Maria Villanueva (featured in film) ]

When will this happen and what is the ultimate GOAL?

Our goal is to film during summer 2020 before I (Crystal!) have my baby in September. Your contributions will help us complete BOTH the filming and the editing process. So far, we have only completed the pre-production process. Our goal is to submit our film to top tier film festivals (think Sundance and Toronto Film fests!) once the editing is complete. After the festival run, we will make it available to stream online for all to see. However, for all of those who contribute, we will send you a private link so you can see what YOU made possible!

I invite you to join me in telling this story of loss, life and finding joy in the midst of suffering. My son, baby on the way and myself thank you so much for your support. Now, let’s make a movie!



Meet the Ladies of ‘The Widows Club’