BACKSIDE: The Unseen Hands of Horse Racing

Premieres April 13, 2026
Directed by Raúl O. Paz-Pastrana

Behind the Kentucky Derby's glamour, unseen workers keep racing’s biggest stage running.

About the Documentary

Immigrant grooms work year-round on the hidden “backside” of Churchill Downs. Rising before dawn, they care for some of the world’s most prized Kentucky Derby racehorses, revealing how race, labor, and class shape an elite American industry. BACKSIDE: The Unseen Hands of Horse Racing honors the resilience that’s behind the spectacle.

The Filmmakers

Raúl O. Paz-Pastrana

Raúl is a Mexican immigrant filmmaker whose work explores themes of belonging, alienation, and “home.” His feature film Border South (2019) screened at festivals worldwide. Raul is a Bay Area Video Coalition MediaMaker Fellow, Firelight Media Documentary Lab Fellow, New America National Fellow, and a Creative Capital Awards Artist Fellow.

Patricia Alvarez Astacio

Patricia is a Puerto Rican anthropologist and filmmaker whose films have been screened globally at festivals like the Havana International Film Festival, The Royal Anthropological Institute Film Festival, and the Boston Latino Film Festival. She was the director of the Society for Visual Anthropology Film and Media Festival.

Gabriella Garcia-Pardo

Gabriella is a Colombian American filmmaker focused on our relationship to land and the nonhuman. She produced La Bonga (True/False, 2023) and Backside (2025), receiving support from Sundance, Catapult, Creative Capital, and Firelight, among others. Her cinematography work has screened at festivals including SXSW, IDFA, and Tribeca.

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