Debris shares the story of a small group of men who are labor trafficked and forced to remodel a house. There is absolutely no regard for their safety, it is more important that the job is completed at any cost. The performance of Tenoch Huerta (Netflix’s Narcos: Mexico) is nothing short of mezmurising, as he plays the Armando and the story takes a turn even he could never expect.

From the moment the live action short film Debris begins you can’t take your eyes off the screen. Julio O Ramos’ directing style ensures each character fills the screen with their individual nuances and the story unfolds at a steady pace.

It isn’t just the heart stopping story that stands out here, whilst the superb acting and stand out directing makes this film special, Debris is a film we should all be talking about! How do we know if men working on our houses are working against their will? More and more people are trying to cross the US border, but what do they have to give up in order to get a better life? In fact, the better life they wanted may never exist when they are forced to work for free to pay for their crossing. According the international Labor Organization there are 24.9 million people in forced labour, that is a staggering amount of people who live these horrific lives every day!

Writer/Director Julio O. Ramos is from Lima, Peru. After obtaining an MFA in Film Directing/Production from UCLA his films have been selected in over 300 film festivals including Telluride, Clermont-Ferrand, and more. His work has been rewarded with dozens of awards, including Best of Fest at Palm Springs Shortfest. Ramos is also a winner at the DGA, BAFTA and Emmy™ student competitions. He is an alumni of the Sundance-sponsored Latino Screenwriting Project in San Antonio, the Berlinale Talents Program at the Berlin Film Festival, and the Buenos Aires Talents Program at BAFICI. Ramos is currently in development of multiple feature films.

Writer/Producer Lucas Mireles is from South Texas and received his MFA degree in film directing from the UCLA. His directing work has premiered at Sundance, SXSW, and Slamdance. Lucas co-wrote and edited the television documentary: Dream Land, Little Rock’s West 9th Street which spotlighted the social impacts of its disappearing African American business district. This garnered him a 2017 Mid America Emmy™ for Best Editing of a Documentary Feature. He is also a recipient of the Film Independent: Project Involve fellowship and was selected for the Berlinale Talents Program at the Berlin Film Festival. Lucas wrote and produced the narrative short film, Debris and in 2019, he wrote and produced the feature film The Legend of Joan of Arc.

Debris is an outstanding film which highlights labor trafficking and mark our words the director Julios O. Ramos is certainly one to watch. A magical little film that you can’t take your eyes off!

Margaret Brown