Impacto Films

Anayansi Prado has produced, directed and provided additional cinematographic and editorial support for three of her own independent productions as well as a host of industry and non-profit films. 

In 2000, Anayansi founded Impacto Films, a film production company geared toward documentary filmmaking. Impacto's first production  Maid in America (2004), was broadcast nationally on the PBS series Independent Lens. Its second production, Child in No Man's Land (2008), is being distributed by New Day Films. In 2011, Anayansi finished production of her third feature film Paraiso for Sale, which has aired nationally on PBS. 

The main purpose of Impacto is to bring forward works that explore issues of immigration, labor, globalization, transnational cultures, social justice and human rights. Impacto Films works to develop and produce documentaries that carry a message and make an impact in the world. 

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Paraiso for Sale (2011)
Writer, Director, Producer

What price would you pay for paradise? And who would you be willing to take it from? The pristine archipelago of Bocas del Toro, Panama attracts retirees and developers from the U.S. with its crystal-clear waters and its island culture. In the award-winning documentary PARAISO FOR SALE, filmmaker, Anayansi Prado, returns to her homeland to document the effects the fast-growing migration is having on the local community. 

This engaging and revealing documentary tells the personal stories of the people who call this area home and would like to keep it that way. From an American couple who’ve invested not just in their home but in their Panamanian community to a local businessman turned political hopeful and an indigenous leader fighting for his land, the characters and stories in PARAISO FOR SALE speak to the larger global issue of communities, new and old, under siege from faceless corporations. PARAISO FOR SALE explores issues of modern day colonialism, residential tourism, global gentrification and reverse migration, by revealing that immigration between Latin America and the US is not just a one-way street.

Funded by Latino Public Broadcasting and Creative Capital. Broadcast nationally on on PBS.

Children in No Man's Land (2008)
Writer, Director, Producer, Cinematographer 

CHILDREN IN NO MAN’S LAND is a documentary that uncovers the current plight of the 100,000 unaccompanied minors entering the United States every year. This film gives this timely political debate about the U.S./Mexico border a human face by exploring the story of Maria de Jesus (13) and her cousin Rene (12) as they attempt to cross the U.S./Mexico border alone to reunite with their mothers in the Midwest. Focusing on minors crossing through the Sonora Desert area in Nogales, Arizona, this film explores every detail of the children’s journey as well as the journey of other children we meet on the way. We uncover in an intimate and personal way where they are coming from, what their journeys have been like, and how they've gone about making the United States of America their new home. Children in No Man's Land is part of the U.S. State Department's American Documentary Showcase through which it has screened in over 30 countries worldwide. Broadcast on PBS World Channel.

Funded by the Rockefeller Media Fellowship, Paul Robeson Grant, The Pacific Pioneer Fund, Chicken and Egg Pictures and The Fledgling Fund. 

Best Documentary, Center for Mexican-American Studies, Texas.

Maid in America (2004)
Writer, Director, Producer 

MAID IN AMERICA is an award-winning documentary offering an intimate, eye-opening look at the lives of las domésticas, as seen through the eyes of Eva, Telma and Judith: three Latina immigrants, each with a very different story, who work as nannies and housekeepers in Los Angeles, California. Filmmakers Anayansi Prado and Kevin Leadingham followed their subjects for several years, and their cameras caught some of the most intimate moments of these women’s lives, both on and off the job. Maid in America broadcasts nationally as part of the PBS series Independent Lens. 

Funded by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation.