Traces of Home (2026): Cast, Story and Release Details

Prepared by Movies Dock Editorial

Traces of Home follows a young filmmaker as she speaks with her Mexican mother and Palestinian father about migration, family pain and generational trauma. Set against rhetoric targeting both communities, the documentary uses personal conversation and filmmaking to examine loss while moving toward reconciliation.

Traces of Home is a 2026 documentary from filmmaker Colette Ghunim. The film centers on conversations with her Mexican mother and Palestinian father, whose difficult journeys to the United States shape its personal and historical focus.

By turning the camera toward her own family, Ghunim examines grief, inherited pain and the effects of increasingly hostile rhetoric toward Mexicans and Palestinians. The result is presented as a reflection on loss that ultimately moves toward reconciliation.

Traces of Home movie details

Story without spoilers

The documentary follows Colette Ghunim as she investigates her family’s past and speaks with her parents about their experiences of coming to the United States. Her mother’s Mexican background and her father’s Palestinian history provide the foundation for a conversation about displacement, hardship and the emotional consequences of migration.

Rather than avoiding painful memories, Ghunim uses filmmaking to address the grief that has influenced her relationship with her family. The film also places these personal experiences within a wider social climate in which Mexicans and Palestinians face vilifying rhetoric. Its central movement is from confronting generational trauma toward the possibility of understanding and reconciliation.

What to expect

As a documentary built around family conversations and personal investigation, Traces of Home can be expected to take an intimate, reflective approach to questions of migration, identity, grief and inherited trauma. Its subject matter connects private family history with broader public rhetoric concerning Mexican and Palestinian communities.

The film’s 93-minute runtime allows room for a focused exploration of these issues, while its stated emphasis on reconciliation suggests a personal account concerned not only with pain, but also with emotional repair. These expectations are based on the film’s premise and supplied description.

Cast and creative team

Colette Ghunim directs Traces of Home and appears as herself. She also shares writing credit with Sara Maamouri. The documentary features Hosni Ghunim, Iza Ghunim and Ramsey Ghunim, each appearing as themselves.

• Colette Ghunim as Self
• Hosni Ghunim as Self
• Iza Ghunim as Self
• Ramsey Ghunim as Self

Release and production context

Traces of Home is a United States documentary in English with a runtime of 1 hour and 33 minutes. It is listed as released on September 18, 2026. The production companies are Kartemquin Films, Sundance Institute, Latino Public Broadcasting and Watermelon Pictures.

Production companies: Kartemquin Films, Sundance Institute, Latino Public Broadcasting, Watermelon Pictures

Traces of Home official trailer

Watch the official trailer on YouTube

Movies Dock view

Traces of Home approaches migration and family history through a distinctly personal lens, using the filmmaker’s conversations with her parents to address grief and generational trauma. Its focus on Mexican and Palestinian experiences gives the documentary a broader social context while keeping family relationships at its center.

Film data:
TMDB · IMDb