Documentary backdrop image for Option Zero (2021)

Documentary backdrop image for Option Zero (2021)

202180 minPGdocumentary

Option Zero

202180 minPGdocumentary

A group of Cuban refugees travels from Guyana to Panama, crossing jungles and facing dangers in their quest to reach the United States.

Genres

Director

Marcel Beltrán

Synopsis

A group of Cuban refugees travels from Guyana to Panama, crossing jungles and facing dangers in their quest to reach the United States.

People

Marcel Beltrán

Marcel Beltrándirector

Synopsis

Marcel Beltrán visits a refugee camp in Panama, where Cubans wait for their chance to reach the United States. Many have traveled a dangerous route, starting with a flight to Guyana, followed by a trek through Colombia and Central America. Residents share their filmed journeys, revealing the struggles they faced along the way. Beltrán intersperses these personal videos with his own footage of life in the camp, contrasting the chaos of their travels with the uncertainty of their current situation.

Awards & Festivals

Comments

What are people saying?

Play More Like This

Venezuela's children flee the country's worsening crisis (2018)

Venezuela's children flee the country's worsening crisis

More than 2 million people have fled Venezuela due to poverty, hunger, and medical shortages, with nearly half of them being children and young people.

Venezuela's children flee the country's worsening crisis

Risking Their Lives To Cross US Border: The Undocumented Migrants (2021)

Risking Their Lives To Cross US Border: The Undocumented Migrants

The Undocumented reveals the dangers faced by migrants crossing the Arizona desert for America.

Risking Their Lives To Cross US Border: The Undocumented Migrants

The World's Most Dangerous Journey - Part 2 (2016)

The World's Most Dangerous Journey - Part 2

Thousands of migrants trek through the Darién Gap each year, risking their lives to escape violence and poverty in search of a better life in the United States.

The World's Most Dangerous Journey - Part 2

The World's Most Dangerous Journey - Part 1 (2016)

The World's Most Dangerous Journey - Part 1

More than 65 million people have been uprooted globally due to war, poverty, and terrorism, many risking their lives to cross the dangerous Darien Gap.

The World's Most Dangerous Journey - Part 1

Cuba : viva la vida (2022)

Cuba : viva la vida

Cuba faces transportation challenges due to an embargo from The United States and scarce resources.

Cuba : viva la vida

Honduras: Escaping violence and poverty (2023)

Honduras: Escaping violence and poverty

Honduran families face extortion demands of up to 6 euros per week from gangs, forcing many to flee the country in search of safety and better lives.

Honduras: Escaping violence and poverty

Migrant Crisis: The Deadly Journey from El - Salvador to the USA (2024)

Migrant Crisis: The Deadly Journey from El - Salvador to the USA

Over the last two years, more than 130,000 children and teenage migrants were arrested in the United States while attempting to escape violence in Central America.

Migrant Crisis: The Deadly Journey from El - Salvador to the USA

The Most Traveled Migration Route on Earth (2022)

The Most Traveled Migration Route on Earth

The most heavily used migration route on Earth reveals the hopes and struggles of those seeking a better life in the USA, as explored by journalist Stef Biemans.

The Most Traveled Migration Route on Earth

Hundreds of Migrants Are Turning Up in the Florida Keys (2023)

Hundreds of Migrants Are Turning Up in the Florida Keys

Nearly 5,000 Cuban migrants have been intercepted by the U.S. Coast Guard since October, a significant increase from 838 in fiscal year 2021.

Hundreds of Migrants Are Turning Up in the Florida Keys

Unreported World: Fleeing Poverty in Venezuela & One Way Ticket to Gangland in El Salvador (2023)

Unreported World: Fleeing Poverty in Venezuela & One Way Ticket to Gangland in El Salvador

More than two million people have fled Venezuela due to poverty, hunger, and medical shortages, with nearly half of them being children and young people.

Unreported World: Fleeing Poverty in Venezuela & One Way Ticket to Gangland in El Salvador

From a Nazi childhood to living with a Syrian refugee (2019)

From a Nazi childhood to living with a Syrian refugee

A 94-year-old woman who was a member of the Hitler Youth shares an apartment in Berlin with a Syrian refugee named Amer.

From a Nazi childhood to living with a Syrian refugee

Canada - The return of the Blackfoot (2025)

Canada - The return of the Blackfoot

More dancers are participating in powwows than ever before, with many young people expressing pride in their Blackfoot heritage and traditions.

Canada - The return of the Blackfoot

Explore Option Zero

Awards Topics FAQ

Where else to watch

What Remains On The Way (2021)

What Remains On The Way

2021•1h33m•★10.0TMDB

Four children travel with their mother from Guatemala, joining a migrant caravan to reach the Mexican-US border while fleeing domestic violence.

What Remains On The Way

Balseros (2002)

Balseros

2002•2h•★6.5TMDB

In the summer of 1994, seven Cubans set out on homemade rafts to reach the United States, with six being rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard and later revisited by the film crew.

90 Miles (2001)

90 Miles

2001•1h15m•★7.0TMDB

A 75-minute documentary recounts filmmaker Juan Carlos Zaldívar's transition from a critical 13-year-old in Cuba to a Marielito fleeing to Miami.

Traveler (2019)

Traveler

2019•1h20m•★8.2TMDB

Two men backpack through Cuba for two weeks, experiencing the local culture, food, and music while navigating the challenges of travel.

Cuba Feliz (2002)

Cuba Feliz

2002•1h33m•★7.4TMDB

76-year-old musician Miguel Del Morales travels across Cuba, visiting Guantanamo and Trinidad while reconnecting with friends and forming new bonds.

Destierros (2017)

Destierros

2017•1h25m•★8.0TMDB

Migrants fleeing political and economic crises in Central America navigate the dangers of Mexico in search of safety and a better life.

Cuba's Wild Revolution (2019)

Cuba's Wild Revolution

2019•52m•★7.7TMDB

Thousands of migrating crabs and jumping crocodiles are part of Cuba's unique wildlife that has thrived under a socialist government for nearly 50 years.

Cuba's Wild Revolution

Brussels-Transit (1982)

Brussels-Transit

1982•1h22m•★6.6TMDB

Thirty years after the last Yiddish feature film, Samy Szlingerbaum presents a narrative of his family's search for refuge following World War II.

Brussels-Transit

Browse more like this

Cuba : viva la vida (2022)

Cuba : viva la vida

Cuba faces transportation challenges due to an embargo from The United States and scarce resources.

Cuba : viva la vida

No digital watch option in your country

Migrant Crisis: The Deadly Journey from El - Salvador to the USA (2024)

Migrant Crisis: The Deadly Journey from El - Salvador to the USA

Over the last two years, more than 130,000 children and teenage migrants were arrested in the United States while attempting to escape violence in Central America.

Migrant Crisis: The Deadly Journey from El - Salvador to the USA

No digital watch option in your country

Unreported World: Fleeing Poverty in Venezuela & One Way Ticket to Gangland in El Salvador (2023)

Unreported World: Fleeing Poverty in Venezuela & One Way Ticket to Gangland in El Salvador

More than two million people have fled Venezuela due to poverty, hunger, and medical shortages, with nearly half of them being children and young people.

Unreported World: Fleeing Poverty in Venezuela & One Way Ticket to Gangland in El Salvador

No digital watch option in your country

From a Nazi childhood to living with a Syrian refugee (2019)

From a Nazi childhood to living with a Syrian refugee

A 94-year-old woman who was a member of the Hitler Youth shares an apartment in Berlin with a Syrian refugee named Amer.

From a Nazi childhood to living with a Syrian refugee

No digital watch option in your country

Walk The Line (2024)

Walk The Line

2024•2h18m•★10.0TMDB

Over 37,000 Chinese migrants entered the United States illegally in 2023, often traveling with young children through multiple Central American countries.

Against Wind and Tide: A Cuban Odyssey (1981)

Against Wind and Tide: A Cuban Odyssey

1981•1h•★7.0TMDB

Approximately 125,000 Cubans fled to the United States during the Mariel boatlift from April 15 to October 31, 1980.

Against Wind and Tide: A Cuban Odyssey

Reventando (2025)

Reventando

2025•1h7m•★10.0TMDB

In Paraguay, a boxing agent faces economic and health challenges while trying to persuade his Cuban girlfriend to join him and create a boxing show.

The Wheels of Wonder (2020)

The Wheels of Wonder

2020•1h9m•★5.0TMDB

1.5 million Syrian refugees live in Lebanon, prompting a team to test a prototype play cart designed to create play opportunities for children.

The Wheels of Wonder

Browse more by Marcel Beltrán

View all films →

Nighthouse (2016)

Nighthouse

2016

String Upon the Air (2011)

String Upon the Air

2011

The Swan of Wishes (2009)

The Swan of Wishes

2009

Is this your film?

If you made this film or hold the rights to it, we'd like to talk. We can license it and pay you a share of what it earns.

License it with us →