The documentary Dolores sheds light on an enigmatic, intensely private woman who is among the most important yet little-known workers’ rights activists in American history – Dolores Huerta.  “Dolores,” premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year in the US Documentary Competition category, and will be released in theaters in the Fall and make its broadcast premiere on PBS in 2018.

In the copious volumes written about Cesar Chavez and how he formed the first farm workers’ union in America, there’s little mention of Dolores Huerta, although she was his equal partner and co-founder of the union. With unprecedented access to Dolores and her children, the film reveals the raw, personal stories behind the public figure. It portrays a woman both heroic and flawed, working tirelessly for social change even as her 11 children longed to have her at home.

“Dolores” was written, produced and directed by Peter Bratt, produced by Brian Benson, and executive produced by Carlos Santana, Regina K. Scully, and Janet MacGillivray Wallace. Benjamin Bratt served as consulting producer. This is the second film for 5 Stick Films Inc, the Bratts’ production company with partner Alpita Patel.

“In the 1970s, the national grape boycott Dolores Huerta helped organize played out in the small rural Minnesota farming community where I grew up—supported by our Catholic Church, along with tens of thousands of religious organizations across the country,” said Lois Vossen, INDEPENDENT LENS executive producer. “More than 40 years later, Dolores is still an indefatigable architect for social change on behalf of poor, under-represented people, urging them to seek self-determination with her refrain ‘Si Se Puede’ (‘Yes We Can’).”

“We are thrilled and inspired to be partnered with PBS and INDEPENDENT LENS for the release of our film ‘Dolores’,” said Peter Bratt. “Part of our mandate at 5 Stick Films is to create socially relevant content which not only entertains, but also provides an alternative point of view for what it means to be mainstream. This is exactly the kind of work that PBS has been focused on since its inception: opening up new worlds to its viewers, using media to educate and captivate people with an immense diversity of perspectives. As longtime champions of arts education and public access for all, they are the perfect partners to illuminate and share Dolores Huerta’s compelling story and important work with the rest of the world.”