American Waitress, New Mexico

Director Vanessa Vassar's humorous and humbling documentary puts a name to the face of four New Mexico food servers, who dispense their thoughts about social structures, sexual politics and spirituality with hard-won grace and wit. Their views about the vocation range from realistic to romantic to existential, but the mystery of how these waitresses spend their time off -- motorcycling, welding, mountain climbing -- may be the greater revelation. Director Vanessa Vassar's humorous and humbling documentary puts a name to the face of four New Mexico food servers, who dispense their thoughts about social structures, sexual politics and spirituality with hard-won grace and wit. Their views about the vocation range from realistic to romantic to existential, but the mystery of how these waitresses spend their time off -- motorcycling, welding, mountain climbing -- may be the greater revelation. Director Vanessa Vassar's humorous and humbling documentary puts a name to the face of four New Mexico food servers, who dispense their thoughts about social structures, sexual politics and spirituality with hard-won grace and wit. Their views about the vocation range from realistic to romantic to existential, but the mystery of how these waitresses spend their time off -- motorcycling, welding, mountain climbing -- may be the greater revelation. Director Vanessa Vassar's humorous and humbling documentary puts a name to the face of four New Mexico food servers, who dispense their thoughts about social structures, sexual politics and spirituality with hard-won grace and wit. Their views about the vocation range from realistic to romantic to existential, but the mystery of how these waitresses spend their time off -- motorcycling, welding, mountain climbing -- may be the greater revelation.