Skip to main content

Backstreet to the American Dream

Sponsored Project

  • Patricia Nazario, Director/Producer
Two images graphically blended, with the American flag framing them. On right are five members of The Grill 'Em All, with a burger truck behind them. They're wearing black T-shirts and caps. On the left is a family of three, embracing each other and wearing read aprons.

About the Project

Backstreet to the American Dream is a 90-minute bilingual feature that takes the audience on a journey and delves into how street food fosters inclusion, all while exploring the deep connection between food, culture and community.

Done through the quintessential 21st-Century entrepreneurial endeavor, this deep dive into the birthplace of the $2 billion dollar global phenomenon, Los Angeles, profiles two trucks and juxtaposes the experiences of American entrepreneurs and Mexican immigrants in the food truck industry. Indeed, these are very different operations in the same city: the gourmet burger truck, Grill 'Em All, is the first season winner of The Great Food Truck Race TV show on the Food Network in 2010, and El Pescadito, a mariscos lonchera (seafood truck), that has been parking at the same swap meet in an immigrant neighborhood since 1982.

To date, the bilingual feature has screened at 14 film festivals (Including: Dances With Films, Newport Beach Film Festival, Sonoma International Film Festival, as well as in New York and Paris), 16 universities/cultural centers, and has won 14 awards, including Best Documentary (twice) and Best Food Film. Telling the rich and vibrant stories of everyday people and teaming up with Medal of Freedom Recipient and Executive Producer Dolores Huerta won this project the coveted Humanitarian Award from the Highland Park Independent Film Festival in 2022.