‘Ashes’ Director Diego Luna Explains Why He Wants to Tell Immigration Stories Set Outside the United States

Diego Luna turned his directorial gaze toward immigration narratives with his film "Ashes," stepping deliberately away from the typical American framework that dominates such stories. Speaking at The American Pavilion alongside producers Valerie Delpierre and Luis Salinas, the "Andor" actor articulated his vision for centering migration experiences beyond U.S. borders.

Luna's directorial choice reflects a growing appetite within independent cinema to reframe immigration discourse outside the familiar geography of north-south border crossings. By positioning "Ashes" outside the American context, Luna challenges the dominant narrative template where the United States functions as either destination or point of moral judgment. This repositioning grants space for stories driven by local desperation, regional conflict, and human movement prompted by forces unrelated to American policy.

The actor's turn to directing comes at a moment when prestige television, particularly through his acclaimed role in "Andor," has expanded his cultural capital and platform. His willingness to tackle immigration through a non-American lens suggests a deliberate rejection of the savior narratives and American exceptionalism that often frame such stories domestically. Instead, Luna opts for what appears to be a more globally situated examination of displacement and survival.

This approach aligns with broader shifts in international cinema, where filmmakers from Mexico and Latin America increasingly tell their own stories without centering the United States as either narrative or geographic anchor. Luna joins contemporaries in reclaiming agency over how migration gets represented, moving away from films that implicitly position America as the ultimate objective or judge of human struggle.

Producers Delpierre and Salinas' involvement suggests both European and Latin American investment in the project, potentially shaping its perspective toward transnational migration patterns. Luna's decision to direct "Ashes" marks a transition from his established acting career into authorial filmmaking, where his choices about geography and narrative framework carry explicit ideological weight. The film stands as a statement about whose stories get told, where, and by whom.