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Logline

When civil engineers from a distant universe propose destroying all life on Earth in order to extract a rare metal found at our planet’s core, three innocent field agents are sent to gather information about Earthlings and decide our planet’s fate.

Synopsis

NAYELI, KATELYN, and AILEMY look like many of the other 17-year-old girls who live in their immigrant neighborhood. But they are actually intergalactic anthropologists sent to Earth to study the human race – a fact unknown even to them until the day they are called to duty.

Having grown up as Bio-Embedded humans with Earthly families, their awakening to their alien identities initially comes as a shock. But as they gradually recover complex memories of themselves as committed scientists who volunteered for this prestigious mission, they do their best to manage their suddenly divided loyalties and proceed with the task ahead – each unaware of the others’ existence.

Every day after school, Nayeli, Katelyn, and Ailemy roam the neighborhood to ask their friends, neighbors, and family members about every aspect of their lives, which they record on advanced devices masquerading as 1970s cassette recorders. They then relay this data to their intergalactic station chief by tapping into the electrical grid via an old payphone on the edge of town.

The topics covered by their daily dispatches range from the peculiar Earthly notions of race and gender, to our curious customs of work, family, and love. As the girls focus their observational lenses on some of the most intimate and fraught aspects of our society, we begin to see our world through fresh eyes.

Like most of their neighbors, the girls’ Earthly parents are Latin American immigrants who do the work that keeps this prosperous county afloat: Nayeli’s mother is a housekeeper, Katelyn’s mother is a dental tech, and Ailemy’s mother is a cashier at a neighborhood taqueria. Although their city relies upon immigrant labor to function, immigration raids have become commonplace and everyone in the neighborhood is increasingly anxious.

When the girls accidentally encounter each other at the payphone, they are elated to realize that they are not alone in this new world (nor alone in their mission). They bond like reunited siblings and join forces, their affection for their community deepening, along with their understanding of humanity.

When they catch their station chief cherry-picking the data they’ve been submitting, they begin to question the true purpose of their research project. Were they sent here as impartial researchers on an interplanetary goodwill mission, or is their data being somehow used as evidence to justify the ultimate destruction of the planet and the people they have grown to love?

When they learn the dark truth, the three aliens must decide what they are willing to risk in order to defend their adopted home.

Borrowing inspiration from Charles Burnett, Chris Marker, and Francois Truffaut, DISPATCHES FROM EARTH is a playful and poetic allegory about teen life, friendship, and Western colonialism.

Meet the Filmmakers

Chris Brown — Writer/Director/Producer
Emmy-award winning filmmaker CHRIS BROWN has directed, produced and/or edited a wide range of features and documentaries. His most recent feature as writer-director, THE OTHER KIDS, won 10 awards internationally, was hailed as “Genuine and relevant” by Variety and “Extraordinary” by The San Francisco Examiner. Brown’s directorial breakout feature, FANNY, ANNIE & DANNY (2010) won 16 awards internationally, was declared “An indie masterpiece” by The Huffington Post and a “Critics’ Pick” by The New York Times. His feature documentary WAVES OF THE SAME SEA (featuring music legends Taj Mahal and David Hidalgo) will premiere in 2027.

When not directing his own work, Brown is an in-demand editor. In addition to editing and co-producing Elena Oxman’s 2026 Spirit Award-nominated feature OUTERLANDS (SXSW 2025), Brown edited the forthcoming thriller FUEGO (2026), the intimate documentaries PLAYGROUND (2024), SYLVIE OF THE SUNSHINE STATE (2022), SONGS OF WOOD & STEEL (2022) with Los Lobos’ David Hidalgo, CRIES OF OUR ANCESTORS (2020), the award-winning THE PROVIDERS (2018), and the PBS favorites WE’VE GOT THE POWER (2013), LET THEM EAT DIRT (2019), and THE NEXT FRONTIER (2010), which won an Emmy for Best Documentary. Brown also edited the 2012 SUNDANCE Grand Jury Award-winning documentary A RIVER CHANGES COURSE

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Contact

For inquiries, please contact [email protected].