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Logline

When a young border patrol agent discovers a dying migrant in the Yuma desert, she’s forced to confront the brutal realities of her job. Backyard/Desert is a haunting exploration of morality, identity, and the invisible lines we draw between right and wrong, self and duty, and one another.

Synopsis

Backyard/Desert follows Pammy, a young border patrol agent in Yuma, Arizona, whose life seems picture-perfect; steady job, loving husband, plans for a family. But when she finds a teenage migrant barely clinging to life in the desert, something shifts. His presence lingers, even after he’s gone, and Pammy is left questioning everything – her job, her values and her future. As the Fourth of July celebrations rage around her, she’s haunted by what she saw… and what she didn’t say. Set against the backdrop of a divided America, Backyard/Desert is a quiet, emotional unraveling – a story about borders, both real and internal, and the people caught in between.

Backyard/Desert aims to shed light on the human aspects of immigration and the moral dilemmas faced by those enforcing border policies, prompting audiences to reflect on the complexities of the immigration crisis and the humanity behind those seeking a new life.

Meet the Filmmakers

Ethan Felizzari-Castillo — Co-Writer/Director/producer
Ethan Felizzari-Castillo is a Salvadoran-American producer, director, and writer, and founder of independent production company CK Productions Inc. Dedicated to keeping his projects independent, he has worked against all odds to bring stories to life since 2013. A graduate of The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, Ethan has produced over 100 theatrical productions, 85+ music videos, and several award-winning short films. Through CK’s marketing division, he served as marketing manager on the BAFTA- and Emmy-nominated, Sundance-winning documentary Beyond Utopia and other feature films.

His directing credits include the award-winning short Cosquillas, starring Gil Perez-Abraham (The Batman), Turkeys Go on Strike (Theater for the New City, Off-Broadway), both the play & feature film versions of Backyard/Desert, and many more. Ethan’s upcoming producing slate includes short films That Old Black Magic (co-produced with the Russo Brothers/AGBO’s RBIAFF Prize) and The Last Autumn. He is also developing multiple features, including Jessica Vill’s Becoming Her, Peter-William Jamieson’s Borderless (which he will direct), Sunny Laprade’s F It, We Ball, and his own scripted drama Offsides.

Nancy Irene Kelly — Original Playwright & Co-Writer
Nancy Kelly is an award-winning playwright and educator whose work explores identity, justice, and emotional depth. Her play Backyard/Desert premiered in NYC and is now adapted for film, co-written with director Ethan Felizzari-Castillo. A Dramatists Guild member with degrees from Sarah Lawrence and UC Berkeley, she has created critically praised solo works and digital theater projects like Medea in Quarantine.

Paul Zaentz — Executive Producer
A graduate of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Paul Zaentz is an acclaimed producer whose career spans some of cinema’s most celebrated works. In 1976, he co-founded The Saul Zaentz Company, producing multiple Academy Award winners including One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1976), Amadeus (1984), The Unbearable Lightness of Being (1988), and The English Patient (1996), as well as The Mosquito Coast (1986), At Play in the Fields of the Lord (1991), and Goya’s Ghosts (2007). He also co-produced The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) with Sidney Pollack, directed by Anthony Minghella.

His recent work includes the documentaries Coup 53 (2019), examining the 1953 coup in Iran, and We Are Many (2014), about the misinformation campaign behind the Iraq War. Currently, Paul is developing several international projects: an adaptation of Wildchilds, a love story set in the dark side of the fashion world; a historical series on the English royal family’s German roots after the Napoleonic Wars; a feature adaptation of Provence 1970; limited series based on The English Patient and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest exploring untold parts of the novels; and a women’s rights film in Pakistan with City of God co-director Katia Lund.

Eugenia Melián — Producer
Since the early 1980s, Eugenia Melián has built a dynamic career as a model, agent, producer, and music supervisor, working between Milan, Paris, London, New York, and Los Angeles. A tastemaker and visionary, she has discovered, managed, and art-directed some of the most influential talents of our time—launching the careers of illustrator/photographer Tony Viramontes and photographer David LaChapelle, and co-creating/producing Malcolm McLaren’s cult album Paris.

Her career includes collaborations with cultural icons and institutions such as Catherine Deneuve, Françoise Hardy, Helmut Newton, David Bailey, Faye Dunaway, Marlon Brando, Prince, Tilda Swinton, Vogue, Matthew Herbert, Blur, Stella McCartney, LouLou de la Falaise, Janet Jackson, Sonia Rykiel, Rocco Siffredi, and The Face magazine. In 2018, she published her debut novel Wildchilds, a stylish meditation on art, identity, and rebellion, now in development as a feature film. In 2025, her 1989–1997 archives were acquired by the Yale Beinecke Library, cementing her legacy as a curator of cultural history.

Juanes Montoya — Producer/Actor
Born in Medellín, Colombia, Juanes Montoya is a theater and film actor trained at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts. His recent screen credits include Max Villa in FBI (CBS, Season 5), Diego in Julio Torres’ acclaimed HBO series Fantasmas, Gio in GoGo (Here TV), and Mark Santos in the feature film Something of Value.

On stage, Montoya has brought depth and intensity to roles such as José Luis in Backyard/Desert, Manuel in Third Wing, Oscar in Sweat, Chino in West Side Story, and Paulo in Normal People (Off-Broadway). As a producer with CK Films, he is helping lead Backyard/Desert and other upcoming projects, merging his creative vision with his industry expertise.

In addition to his film and theater work, Montoya is an accomplished commercial, lifestyle, and fashion photo/video producer, collaborating with global brands such as Vogue and working alongside high-profile talent, including Lady Gaga and Sabrina Carpenter. His unique blend of artistic and production experience positions him as a multifaceted force in today’s entertainment landscape.

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Contact

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