For Alejandro Palacios, the foundation of documentary filmmaking is trust. Before he even picked up his camera to shoot them, he spent a year getting to know the West Marin women at the center of his new film, “The Latinx Photography Project.”

 Every Monday night at the Point Reyes Library, the women would gather to learn how to capture images that document their lives on the ranches of West Marin. In the process, they would study English and forge ties with one another and the community to which they had immigrated. They shared their work each year at Gallery Route One, which provided them with cameras and instruction beginning in 2003.

Fourteen years later, Mr. Palacios began sitting in on their classes, driving in from his home in Nicasio. 

“I was very intentional about not bringing a camera right away,” he said. “I was there to learn from them and connect with them. It takes a long time to earn people’s trust.”

He finished the film in 2020, but the pandemic prevented him from sharing the final cut with the class and the community organizations that have supported the photography project.  Mr. Palacios held his first local screening last month at the Dance Palace, and KQED television will show the film next weekend. Broadcasts are scheduled on public stations around the country.

“When Alejandro interviewed me for the film, I had no idea the movie would become so successful,” said Maricela Mora, who works at the West Marin Pharmacy and began participating in the project 16 years ago. “Seeing myself on screen made me feel proud and confident.”

Mr. Palacios became aware of the Latino Photography Project, as it was originally known, while working in video production at the Community Media Center in San Rafael and managing its art gallery. He had worked on several films before but had never produced and directed his own.

“We were constantly looking for artists of color or different forms of expression than you would normally find in Marin County,” he said. “I used to visit Gallery Route One, and when I stumbled upon the Latino Photography Project, I was very interested in learning more about it. It was very refreshing to see the work of farmworkers hanging in a gallery.” 

Ms. Mora enjoys shooting images of children, landscapes and traditional Aztec dance, which she also performs. The film features her bright, vibrant portraits of dancers at the annual Día de los Muertos celebration in Point Reyes Station.

“You learn a lot taking pictures,” she said. “You see more with the camera, through the lens, and you capture moments that don’t come back. When I’m taking photographs, I forget that I’m shy.”

When the program began, the Latino and Anglo communities in the area led largely separate lives, said Nancy Bertelsen, a former Gallery Route One board chair and a project founder.

“We realized we needed help in connecting with the Latino folks who lived and worked on the surrounding dairy ranches,” she said. “Contemporary art exhibits and poetry readings by urbanized Latino artists did not attract anyone from their long work shifts and family life.”

To recruit participants, they reached out to Luz Elena Castro, a Colombian-born photojournalist, and Ana Maria Ramirez, a community elder with wide connections in the community.

“Our goal was to engage the imagination, while offering a potentially marketable skill,” Ms. Bertelsen said. “But it was also the desire to bridge, through art, these seemingly unbridgeable segments of the community we all shared.” 

In the beginning, they used images to build English vocabulary. Over time, the class focused more on technique, inspiration and documenting community life. 

In the early days, most of the participants were grandmothers or stay-at-home moms who could make time for Monday evening classes, toddlers in tow. 

Nowadays, a new generation of participants attend school or have jobs outside the home. Finding regular time to meet has proved more challenging. They have scheduled a few small group meetings and plan to share their work through an Instagram account.

Ms. Bertelsen, who is now retired from the project, is seeking new leadership for the program. She is hoping to persuade a longtime participant to take the reins.

About 45 photographers have participated in the program over the years. Mr. Palacio’s film focuses on a handful of them, including Ms. Ramirez. He has screened the 26-minute film at nearly a dozen international film festivals, and it has been honored as the best short documentary at several California festivals. 

“You know it when you take a good photo,” Ms. Ramirez says in a voiceover as the film shows a montage of her striking landscapes. “You think, that’s the one!”

Photography has added new dimensions to everything she perceives. “You start to see people, nature and everything else around you in a different light,” she said. 

The project has been empowering for all its participants. 

“It blew open new possibilities,” Ms. Ramirez said. “We had no idea just how far it would go. It’s been inspiring, and it gives us hope that our voice matters—that in this vast country, we are not invisible.”

“The Latinx Photography Project” shows on Saturday, Sept. 16 at 7:30 p.m. and on Sunday, Sept. 17 at 5 p.m. on KQED, and will also be available for streaming. More information can be found at https://www.kqed.org/tv.