ALL THEY WILL CALL YOU is a feature length documentary that follows the fifteen-year journey of author Tim Z. Hernandez as he investigates the buried history of the 1948 plane crash in Los Gatos Canyon, California. Using a docu-detective, road movie approach to the story, Hernandez seeks to uncover the names of the Mexican passengers killed in the crash and buried in a mass grave in California’s central valley. While the casualties were reported simply as “deportees” by American newspapers, the legendary folk singer Woody Guthrie composed a popular protest song that memorialized the victims and raised provocative questions about whose lives we recognize and remember. Guthrie’s song was recorded by folk music icons such as Bob Dylan, Peter Seeger, Joan Baez, Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, and countless others.
Seven decades later, Tim Z. Hernandez, the son of migrant farmworkers, sets out on a journey into the past, through the heart of California’s agricultural belt, and across central Mexico. The story is part historical investigation, part personal calling, narrated by Hernandez, and documented over a span of fifteen years. With his investigative approach, he tracks down the relatives of the victims, uncovers the names and identities of the 28 Mexicans who were left faceless and nameless in their death, and recovers their dignity stripped many years ago. The documentary is based on Hernandez’s two highly acclaimed, award-winning books, “All They Will Call You” (2017) and “They Call You Back” (2024).
How You Can Help
Since 2010, I have documented nearly every step of this journey through video, audio, and photographs—my research, travels, and intimate conversations with families and experts. What began as a personal search has grown into a deeply human story spanning two nations, decades of U.S. immigration policy, American folk music, and lives—including my own—forever shaped by tragedy. With my producers and an award-winning post-production team, this story is now coming to the screen—and the moment could not be more urgent.
As immigration enforcement intensifies and fear dominates the national conversation, we urgently need stories that restore our shared humanity. This film does exactly that: it names the unnamed, honors lives long erased, and insists on dignity when too many are treated as disposable.
WE NEED YOUR HELP NOW.
The creative team is assembled and ready. Over 100 hours of footage are already with our seasoned editor. What we need is funding to complete post-production and bring the film to audiences everywhere. Our goal is to finish by late Summer 2026 in time for major film festival submissions.
If you are interested in supporting the film, click the DONATE button below, or contact us at tzhernandez@yahoo.com. Your support at this stage would be transformative-—for the film and for the conversations and healing it can help spark.
Tim Z. Hernandez 