Spare My Bones, Coyote!

1. Coyote: From nahuatl: coyotl, Canis Latrans. Species of North American wild dog.

2. Coyote: [loanword from Mexican Spanish] A person who smuggles immigrants across the Mexico-United States border

Ely and Marisela Ortiz, leaders of the volunteer group Águilas del Desierto, have spent the past twelve years roaming the harsh terrain along the U.S.–Mexico border to search for the bodies of missing undocumented migrants, who have perished while attempting the crossing on foot, and to connect them back to their families.

Their commitment is deeply personal. In 2009, Ely lost his brother and cousin after they were abandoned in the desert by a coyote. He later joined the search team that recovered their bodies. That experience left a lasting mark, and since then, Ely and Marisela have devoted themselves entirely to this work. Despite exhaustion, burnout, and the strain on their family life, they have never stepped away from their mission—one that would otherwise go largely unfulfilled.

Founded in 2012, the Águilas del Desierto organization responds to an overwhelming volume of calls — between 20 and 40 every day — each one a desperate plea for help. Many of the missing are left behind due to injury, illness, or exhaustion. But while recovering remains can offer a measure of closure, identification is often impossible. That is why, beyond search and recovery missions, the Águilas also engaged in communication campaigns. They traveled to Central America to share information with migrants considering the journey, outlining the risks and common dangers of crossing the border.

Spare My Bones, Coyote! offers an intimate immersion into this relentless work and the lives shaped by it—an exploration of dedication, loss, and the quiet, ongoing struggle to bring answers to families searching for their own.

FILMMAKER'S STATEMENT: "It is an undeniable truth that mass displacements will continue to intensify over the coming years— and with them, exile, distress, and social conflict. Both in subject and in form, Spare My Bones, Coyote! could not be more timely. Its very reason for being is urgency, and its mission is to communicate a forgotten truth and provide a counter-narrative to the prevailing media polarization.

The first time I met Ely, Marisela, The Águilas, and witnessed their work, it was immediately clear to me that their story needed to be told on the big screen, with the scale and depth it deserved. To that end, the team and I accompanied them on half a dozen outings over three years, capturing footage that would immerse the audience in the experience in real time. In return for our commitment, The Águilas granted us unprecedented access and treated us as one of their own.

The presence of migrants on screen— through their videos and voices— had to be handled with unwavering care and ethical responsibility. Beyond partisan activism, what mattered to me, through Spare My Bones, Coyote!, was to portray with nuance the many tragedies of the humanitarian catastrophe that the Mexico-US border has become, and to explore the deep inner wounds caused by life-altering decisions over which those involved— whether migrants, volunteers, or participants— often have little to no control."

— Jonah Malak

Preview link available upon request. Contact [email protected] for more information

A Film by Jonah Malak

84 minutes

Scene Selection • Closed Captioned

Grades 9 - Adult

Item #: SMB-2089

A volunteer group roams the deserts along the US-Mexico border in search of missing migrants

Starting at $99

Licensing Options

K-12 Classroom, Public Libraries: DVD - $99 K-12 Classroom, Public Libraries: DVD + Digital File - $149 Colleges, Businesses, and Institutions: DVD - $395 Colleges, Businesses, and Institutions: DVD with Digital Site License - $495 K-12 School District pricing available. Please inquire at [email protected] Community Screenings: Please Complete 'Host a Screening' Form found on top menu bar

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Reviews and Festivals

"Jonah Malak creates a sensory and immersive work, focusing on a couple who chose to restore dignity to the invisible victims of a tragic migratory journey."

— Montreal International Documentary Film Festival (RIDM)

"Captures the harried domestic lives of the central pair while it unfurls into a larger portrait of the crises that inform their every waking moment... A telling snapshot of an urgent crisis."

— POV Magazine

"Jonah Malak reframes the U.S.-Mexico border as a landscape of absence and loss... Marisela and Ely do not speak in terms of heroism, they speak of duty, exhaustion, and loss. Their commitment is not cast as a noble sacrifice, but as a response born of necessity in the face of institutional absence. The film acknowledges that even recovery brings only partial closure. Bones are found, and in some cases, names are confirmed... Ultimately adopts a broader humanistic perspective on migration."

— Martin Kudlac, ScreenAnarchy

"Spare My Bones, Coyote! strikes just the right balance to address a difficult and multifaceted subject. At a time when authoritarianism in western nations is being built upon the criminalization of exiles— spearheaded by the Trump administration and the abuses of ICE— the existence of such a film reminds us that we have not all yet abandoned hope, however faint it may be."

— Alexandre Ruffier, 24 images

"Unwavering, cinema-verite approach that honors the dignity of the dead and the emotional toll on those left behind. It juxtaposes harrowing discovery scenes with intimate moments in the Ortiz household. The result is a powerful, unflinching mediation of grief, resilience, and quiet heroism. A sober, searing call to action— this is cinema that doesn't just shine light on a crisis, it carries its weight."

— Quesnel Film Club

"The film is harsh and offers no consolation: the final image shows a boy alive, in mid-crossing, being stopped by border police. After so many voices, silences, and fragments, this final confrontation hits home. We leave shaken, but with a persistent certainty: solidarity still exists."

— Sarah-Louise Pelletier-Morin, Le Devoir

"A documentary that reflects on immigration policies without resorting to rhetoric, showcasing the work of a group of volunteers driven by a deep belief in human dignity."

— Miguel A. Reina, En Primera Fila

"A noble, arduous, and sacrificial task that director Jonah Malak documents with sensitivity and a keen eye for detail... The film's great strength lies in its focus on the sacrifices and psychological burden this work entails... Spare My Bones, Coyote! manages to generate a comprehensive reflection on the dehumanization behind anti-immigrant laws and how global conditions lead more people to risk their lives for a better one, which in turn strengthens the burden that Ely and the Eagles must bear."

— Ricardo Gallegos, La Estatuilla

"This impressive doc could be mistaken for a bummer horror flick. Its real-life horrors are already unthinkable... The plight of the migrant is detailed in haunting images of abandoned shoes amid the cacti, heartbreaking last calls saved by relatives back home, or the sequence in which a forensics expert talks about her 'demoralization' as she drills into yet another blanched skull that will probably never be identified."

— Adrian Mack, Stir

"In a time where migrants are demonized, this is a film that returns the humanity to the term. It's also a film that reminds us that there are still good people in the world. I was moved to the point where I can't really express myself. In an age when the far right wants to make you think the people who are trying for a better life are monsters, this is a reminder that they are people, with lives and families. Highly Recommended."

— Steve Kopian, Unseen Films

"The film remains a harsh but compassionate look at the high cost of human displacement."

— Rick Chung, Lifestyle Journalist / Communications Director

WINNER

RIDM, Magnus-Isacsson Award

DocsMX, Jury Award

NOMINATED

Canadian Screen Awards

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