All the World Is Sleeping

All the World Is Sleeping is a 2021 drama film written and directed by Ryan Lacen in his feature film debut. It stars Melissa Barrera, Kristen Gutoskie, Lisandra Tena, Luis Bordonada, Jackie Cruz and Jorge Garcia.

Synopsis
In New Mexico a young woman resolved not to make the same mistakes as her parents but addiction issues threatens her life with her own daughter.

Production
Written and directed by Ryan Lacen, the project was produced by Anthony Baldino, Charlene Bencomo, Micaela Cadena, Ryan Lacen and Sonja Mereu. Lacen told Deadline Hollywood that "a unique collaboration with the non-profit Bold Futures" meant that the project "is not only based on the lived experiences of seven women with a history of addiction, it was made by them". He added "As a director, whose own family has been affected by addiction, my intention was to create a film that felt truthful". Barrera plays a composite character based on the experiences of Bold Futures (formerly known as Young Women United), which is a New Mexico-based reproductive justice nonprofit organisation.

Release
The film was shown at the New York Latino Film Festival on September 16, 2021. The film became available to stream on-demand, and had a limited theater release in the United States on March 17, 2023.

Reception
Michael Talbot-Haynes in Film Threat described the film as a "genuine ethnographic study in the oral tradition as much as a dramatic feature" and that it is “one of the most honest and harrowing studies of addiction since Requiem for a Dream".