WHILE WE ARE HERE

Electronic Press Kit

Every artist leaves traces of their existence—paintings, films, performances, journals, letters, friendships, and communities.

This film asks not only what survives us, but how we care for one another, build community, and shape culture in the present moment.

It is an invitation to consider what we make, what we share, and what we leave behind While We Are Here.

Quick Facts:

Title: While We Are Here

Genre: Documentary Feature

Runtime: 86 minutes

Country: United States

Language: English & Spanish

Accessibility: Open Captions • Audio Description • Spanish Open Captions • Spanish Audio Description • Spanish dubbed version

Filmed In: Chicago, Illinois

Director: Reveca Torres

Co-Production: Kartemquin Films

Status: Available for festivals, community screenings, museums, universities, and special events.

About The Film

While We Are Here follows disabled artist and filmmaker Reveca Torres as she writes to Frida Kahlo, Henri Matisse, and Vincent van Gogh, weaving their stories together with the work and lives of contemporary disabled artists whose creativity is reshaping our understanding of art, community, and legacy.

Short Synopsis

Artist and filmmaker Reveca Torres embarks on a creative correspondence with Frida Kahlo, Henri Matisse, and Vincent van Gogh through a series of imagined letters. As she reflects on their work, their lives, and the questions they leave behind, the film unfolds into an intimate portrait of contemporary disabled artists in Chicago. Through conversations, performances, studio visits, and collaborative art-making, While We Are Here celebrates disability culture as a living, evolving artistic movement.

Long Synopsis

What conversations would unfold if artists could write across time? In While We Are Here, artist and filmmaker Reveca Torres writes a series of imagined letters to Frida Kahlo, Henri Matisse, and Vincent van Gogh—artists whose work has shaped her own creative life. Through these letters, she reflects on their artistic practices, imagines the worlds in which they created, and considers the questions their work continues to raise about beauty, pain, identity, and what it means to leave something behind. Those conversations become a doorway into the present. The film introduces audiences to a remarkable community of contemporary disabled artists in Chicago whose work is expanding our understanding of creativity, access, and belonging. Through studio visits, rehearsals, performances, exhibitions, and candid conversations, we witness artists making work that is deeply personal while also reshaping the cultural landscape around them. Blending documentary filmmaking with handmade artwork, journals, animation, archival materials, and an original score, While We Are Here invites viewers into the artistic process itself. Rather than simply observing finished works, audiences experience the experimentation, collaboration, and relationships that make those works possible. Together, these artists leave behind more than paintings, performances, or films. They leave archives of lived experience, new ways of imagining disability culture, and creative legacies that will continue to inspire future generations. While We Are Here is ultimately a film about artistic lineage—how artists influence one another across time, how communities sustain creativity, and what we choose to leave behind while we are here.

Director Statement

wwah little figure_edited_edited_edited_

My work is rooted in the intersection of my Mexican heritage, disability culture, and a belief in the power of art to create social change. Through photography, film, and mixed media, I explore disability ancestry, artistic legacy, and the communities that shape who we become. While We Are Here grew from a desire to better understand the artists who have influenced my own creative practice. Through imagined letters to Frida Kahlo, Henri Matisse, and Vincent van Gogh, I reflect on their lives and work while exploring what they continue to teach us about creativity, resilience, and making art that endures. As those conversations unfold, the film expands to celebrate contemporary disabled artists in Chicago whose work is redefining art, access, and community. Together, we share not only our creative practices, but the relationships, collaborations, and cultural spaces we are building today. I hope While We Are Here encourages audiences to think differently about disability, artistic legacy, and whose stories are remembered. More than anything, I hope it inspires people to recognize the creativity, joy, and lasting contributions of disabled artists—both throughout history and in the present.