An intimate look at the life and work of a Roma refugee from Kosovo collecting trash on the streets of Novi Sad, Serbia, 'Active (citizen)' is a visual ethnography focused on the material, sensorial and kinaesthetic realities of the protagonist’s work and its political and social significance – the daily activism beyond the scope of public recognition. The film is part of a larger visual project on the ‘invisible activism’ of ethnic minorities and migrants who engage for causes beyond those important for their own community. Such activism is invisible because it happens outside any minority or migrant community structures (typical point of access for researchers and media) and because at times it takes forms which comparing to the activism of those who can afford more grand forms of activism it seems insignificant. The film approaches the question of affordability of social engagement as it is conceptualised by middle-class academics and activists.

Active (citizen)

The documentary aims to promote social aspects of the environment for older migrants, by introducing the audience to a community of ageing Italians in Newcastle upon Tyne, UK. Hence, the characters of the documentary gather in a recreational centre to play Bingo. This place, and the sense of community it conveys, visualize a “sense of home” in later life and raises awareness about issues of ageing in the context of migration.

Age is just a Bingo Number

Merging personal memoir and photojournalism, Aloha Soul Food nostalgically explores decolonial foodways through the family life stories of six Pacific Island women. A transnational story set in Los Angeles, California, the documentary embodies an intergenerational love story to working class women deeply rooted in Hawaii while skillfully examining a century of how they navigated through the Chinese exclusion Acts, the overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom, 1960s school cafeterias, the United Public Workers Strike in 1979, and the Women’s Army Core. The film shows how generations can reclaim identity and historical spaces through recipes while reminding us of the deep ties that bind our families and communities together.

Aloha Soul Food

Unable to speak English, with no money or trade, and a 6th grade education, “Americano” is the story of a LatinX teenager from Guadalajara, Mexico who illegally immigrated to the United States in the 1970s in search of his “American Dream”. In a time before immigrants were relentlessly categorized as “rapists and murderers”, this is a rare, positive look at the power of pathways to citizenship and the positive social and economic effect it has on our southern neighbors who continue to be the backbone of labor and service in the US economy. With perseverance and help from like-minded, empathetic immigrants, he was able to thrive. Far exceeding his wildest dreams, he became a citizen, businessman, and an “American Dream” success story. However, under current immigration laws, this story is nearly impossible today.

Americano

When they learn their grandfather is gravely ill, four cousins travel from their Indigenous Triqui immigrant community in California to their ancestral village in Mexico for the first time. The teenagers record videos to share with their family members, who are farmworkers in the U.S. and have not seen their relatives in their home town in more than a decade. Through a mixture of Spanish, Triqui, and English, they get to know their grandparents, aunts and uncles. In the midst of border politics and violence, the group of cousins forge a link across thousands of miles, with a newfound pride in their indigenous immigrant identity and understanding of the meaning of family.

First Time Home

'Healing Nation' is an intimate look at the impact of children being separated from their parents because they are Indigenous. The stories collected in this film are raw and uniquely unfiltered, giving the audience a chance to see what it's really like to deal with the forced separation of family members. Throughout colonial history, Canada has maintained policies that enable the forced removal of Indigenous children from their homes and communities. The film features the story of mother, Symbia Barnaby, who had her six children apprehended by the Ministry of Child and Family Services. In order to understand the complexity of how she got there, we also hear from her mother, a Sixties Scoop survivor, and her sister, a survivor of domestic violence. The film also features the stories of Elders, Joyce and Joseph Fosella, who run the organization Warriors Against Violence. They speak to the legacy of residential school and their own lived experience of healing from domestic violence. And lastly, a traditional carver named Henry Kelly shares stories of being raised by survivors of residential school and the legacy he wishes to leave for his son. The stories in 'Healing Nation' illuminate how colonial violence has an intergenerational impact, and it shows some tools these people are using to heal from their experiences.

Healing Nation

Is it true that translation creates the basis for a new commons? If so, how? The video essay How Do Animals and Plants Live? is an inquiry into the forcible eviction and immediate demolition of the self-organized anarchist-supported migrant squat Orfanotrofeio in Thessaloniki, Greece, in July 2016. An on-site interview with a young West African migrant, detailed exploration of the bulldozed ruins of the old orphanage, and performative translations from a Greek-language children's schoolbook (How Do Animals and Plants Live?) that the filmmakers found (amid the rubble when they broke into the site)—these elements are all interwoven with strikingly relevant yet unexpected visuals sparked by questions translated directly from the book. Such visuals pointedly wonder: how is this possible? While extrapolating on the assertion that “no one is illegal,” the essay actively yet unobtrusively demonstrates the continuing viability of such anarchist principles as self-organization, autonomy, solidarity, assembly, and direct action, in relation to ongoing migrant struggles, at an historical moment when the status of the refugee has become a global paradigm.

How Do Animals and Plants Live?

Invisible Seams shares the stories of eight different Asian seamstresses and pattern-makers in New York, bringing to the fore the experiences of these frontline workers of the fashion industry, whose voices are too often overlooked. These women have weathered the pandemic, the rise of anti-Asian hate crimes, trials of immigration, and the never-ending demands of fashion cycles. Invisible Seams is a celebration of their talent and expertise, an acknowledgment that their devotion to their craft is also a means of survival.

Invisible Seams

“In a very personal way, Sarajevo still reflects in me today, - and therefore, especially within my music.” LAKIKO - A HYBRID IDEA is an audiovisual portrait of Lana Kostić, a cellist, singer and composer from Bosnia, Germany, and Switzerland. Born in Sarajevo, the city and its history serve as a metaphor and foundation for LAKIKOs work today. Oscillating between classical music, Balkan style, and avant-garde, it is precisely the contrasts and frictions that make up her music.

LAKIKO | A HYBRID IDEA

A father and daughter must cross the border in order to find a better life, but the daughter cannot speak.

Lili

Living in the Story explores three photographic series dealing with immigration/internment and nuclear issues by distinguished photographic artist Patrick Ryoichi Nagatani. These issues are particularly relevant today, in light of escalating threats of war, toxic pollution and a growing refugee population worldwide. Nagatani was one of the most brilliant photographic artists of our era. In the late 1970s, he pioneered the Contemporary Constructed Photographic Movement in Los Angeles, developing a new visual vocabulary by constructing tableau photographs from sets, sculptures, models, and paintings. The film portrays an artist deeply concerned and well informed about world events who uses imagery, storytelling and narrative fiction to raise awareness about modern anxieties, with an emphasis on the threat of nuclear weapons technology and government policies that foment fear of immigrants and minorities. Despite the serious content of his subject matter, his innovative images are compelling and entertaining. An engaging raconteur and teacher, Nagatani talks in the film about his projects, his unorthodox photographic techniques, and his subtle weaving together of fiction and fact. Scott Nagatani’s hauntingly beautiful music score provides the film’s soundtrack.

Living In The Story – Short Version

"Nostos" captures the agony and the conditions under which a group of refugees leave their homeland, trying in every way to cross the international borders, seeking security. A journey of "life and death" for those who have lost everything, one that compels them to face a reality they didn't choose.

Nostos

Oh, Colonizers is a Masterpiece Theatre styled satire hosted by self-proclaimed Cultural Historian of Black Joy Carla Stillwell. Oh, Colonizers unpacks the way white people throughout America’s history have spread "oppression mayonnaise" over countless Black and Brown people. In this episode, we look at the period after the Civil War when America had a choice between emancipation, reconciliation and capitalism. With the help of a metaphorical World Colonization game show and KAREN inspired commercials, Oh, Colonizers connects the dots between capitalism and the insurrection of January 6, 2021 with historical accuracy and enough comedy to help the medicine go down.

Oh Colonizers

This film is a component of a project titled "Our Not So Fairy Tales.". As a migrated Hongkonger, and also an international student, I gathered 8 immigrants who moved from Hong Kong to other places for different reasons. Interviewing them motivated me to share their stories of relocation, as migration should be a social problem that people pay attention to, although they might not have been through the process. We, who moved away from our homeland, somehow love or loved our birthplace where we grew up in and where our memories sit. In order to let audience understand more, I chose to describe migration as "leaving home," I thought it would be more relatable since everyone leaves their home after growing up. I think It would be easier to sympathise or even empathise if it comes to feelings and emotions, but not politic. Therefore, this film talks about the background and story behind this project.

Our Not So Fairy Tales

When a young woman is shot by an undocumented immigrant on Pier 14 in San Francisco, the incident ignites a political and media furor that culminates in Donald Trump’s election as President of the United States. In the eye of this storm, two public defenders fight to reveal the truth.

Ricochet

When most people think of Native Americans they usually think of the stereotypes that Hollywood has created from a Colonial perspective. Fortunately there's an alternate universe where Native Americans have not only retained control of our lands but where a pair of Zuni film makers are casting for a special project. They need a "diversity hire" in order to get funding, and time is running out. Welcome to Shiwi-verse.... *This was my capstone project for Film Crew 3 & 4, and is the fourth chapter in an anthology. Some elements, like Amanda's phone/quilt, the blue ball, and the security guards are from the previous three chapters. My classmates didn't finish their Slipstream themed projects so I'm submitting this as a stand-alone.

Shiwi-verse

Pirooz Kalayeh uncovers a traumatic event with racism when he was a child and seeks to heal himself and his family through interviews, therapy, and roleplays.

Sometimes I Dream in Farsi

War tragically pushed Asmaa out of her home country, Syria, where her destiny had been written as a wife and mother with only 16 years of age. Asmaa rebuilt her adult identity as the neighborhood storyteller and began using reading aloud to children for fun as a bridge to tackle critical issues in her new community at the Zaatari refugee camp in Jordan. Six years later, with Asmaa’s first born daughter reaching adolescence, a flashback of her education deprived past emerges and inspires her to embark on a new read aloud project to empower teenage girls to build a future of opportunities she never had. Despite her complex living situation as a refugee and the community’s conservative mindset, Asmaa is determined to raise a conscious generation of successful women. The Neighborhood Storyteller is a documentary feature film that explores human resilience, the transition from child to adult and one's capacity to turn hardships into an opportunity for self growth.

The Neighborhood Storyteller

You might think America is a democracy, where freedom of speech and basic rights are guaranteed. But at its heart, there is a great injustice. Against all the odds several extraordinary citizens are banding together and fighting back for their basic right to clean water. Armed only with facts and their illnesses, they risk arrest to take on the might of industry and government. From Flint to the Navajo Nation, via Standing Rock, this is their story.

Thirst for Justice

Film Block: Immigrants/Indigenous People

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