This film focuses on the important relationship between ancient Indigenous farming practices and the survival of an endemic species that both depend on the health of their ecosystem.

Our lead character, 84-year-old Doña Susana represents the last of her chinampera generation. The ancestral knowledge she was raised on is being lost. She finds sadness in this reality, reflecting on a time when the canals that make up Lake Xochimilco were abundant with flowers and wild Axolotls.

Despite the devastation she’s witnessed, she still has a glimmer of hope that this way of life, and the wild axolotl, can be saved. She continues to advocate on behalf of the chinampero way of life, sharing her maternal wisdom to younger generations in hopes of preserving what’s left of Lake Xochimilco.

Lake Xochimilco & the Critically Endangered Axolotl

Lake Xochimilco is the last remaining lake in Mexico Valley, housing 2% of the world’s biodiversity. The lake itself was designed by the first peoples of Mexico, namely the Xochimilcas, who turned 6,000 acres of wetlands into a highly productive farming system called the “chinampa” or floating gardens.

For centuries, the chinampas enabled Xochimilcas to grow crops in the lake and provide food for Mexico City. Now, only 17% of the chinampas are considered agriculturally productive, while the rest are abandoned or used for tourism.

Due to rapid urbanization and pollution, Lake Xochimilco is at risk of degradation and could disappear by 2050. The disappearance of the lake would mean a loss of a traditional way of life along with the loss of a critically endangered species: the Axolotl.

While the film revolves around science, it feeds into a deeper narrative of tradition and mythology. The goal is to utilize the Axolotl as both a real-world and cosmological character due to its mythological representation in Mexican culture.

Legends tell a story of Xolotl, the Aztec god of fire and lightning, who transformed into an Axolotl to escape sacrifice. Before becoming a salamander, he disguised himself as corn and maguey.

Like the Axolotl, Xochimilco and the whole Valley of Mexico have gone through significant transformation due to the negative impacts of urbanization and pollution. Despite these significant blows to the natural function of the lake, there is a pathway to renewal. Like the Axolotl, Nature can and will renew itself if we allow it.

Axolotl’s story of transformation thus serves as a throughline of our film, touching on themes of trauma, transformation, resilience, and rebirth.

Photo Vogue
Women by Women: The Shortlist

DC/DOX
Nature Connection Pitch Finalist 2026

Mountainfilm
Commitment Grant 2025