The Windy City is probably one of the most dangerous places to be a window washer. Taking a closer look at the workers who daily dangle down the city’s skyscrapers, Paraíso highlights a group of Mexican immigrants who have built their careers in this risky profession. 

In a New York Times op-ed published this week, filmmaker Nadav Kurtz says he was inspired to make the film when he watched a window washer at work from his desk in Chicago. 

This momentary interaction seemed a perfect metaphor for life in many multiethnic American cities where the work of immigrants often goes unnoticed. 

The film, which we highlighted as a top-10 Sundance pick earlier this year, was just shortlisted as an Academy Award nominee and screened at the Tribeca Film Festival.