The song I wrote for my final project “Shelter”, is inspired by the movie Entre Nos.

I feel like this movie is a story that everyone needs to witness. I loved the way the emotional impact of the family’s situation was shown throughout the movie. The movie captures the heart and soul of a family who has so much love and hope, but no permanent shelter. The emotion from the characters in the movie was something that I wanted to capture in my lyrics. In the story, the idea of love was a prominent theme, and even if it wasn’t a roof over their heads, the family had the safety and protection of the love they shared that got them through.

Watching this movie opened up my eyes to the opportunities and inequalities that people have based on their identity. I feel like this movie exposes the flaws in the system that we live in and how messed up the society that surrounds us truly is. This song is solely based upon what I saw in the movie. My personal experience wouldn’t be enough for me to write this song because I’ve never had to think of living without a home or shelter. I think the beauty of this movie, and story, is it lets people understand the privilege they have in their own lives and realize that even if you don’t have to go through something, there are people who will and are. This is the most honest movie I have ever watched. It was so pure and didn’t hide anything from the audience. I enjoyed writing this song, and learned a lot from your story. –Clara Dinkin ’16

Song written based on the life of Paola Mendoza (writer, movie director, social activist).