A brave and unflinching look into the face of modern-day puberty, Going on 13 follows four urban girls of color over the span of four years.
Dawn Valadez is a Xicana, disabled, queer filmmaker and artist dedicated to telling powerful stories that center BIPOC, Latine, queer, women, and disabled communities. She is co-directing Querida Fátima with Colectiva Varinia. The project won Best Picture, Best Director, and the Audience Award at the Guadalajara International Film Festival im April 2026. Her film The Pushouts (with Galloway, 2018), won the 2019 Imagen Best Documentary Award, and has worked as a co-producer on Hummingbirds (Castaños & Contreras, 2023), and a consulting producer on The Dao of Thao (Nguyen, 2026), and Manzinar, Diverted (Kaneko, 2021). She is a producer on An Everyday Riot, about the incredible life of Urvashi Vaid by Nancy Kates (production) and Vivien’s Wild Ride, (Vivien Hilgrove, 2025). Her work has been supported by Ford Foundation/Just Films, Sundance, and Tribeca All Access. She is a board member of the Berkeley Film Foundation and the Disability Media Alliance. She is the BAVC Media Director of Artist and Workforce Development and the Co-Director of the Media Maker Fellowship.
