7 Films about the Immigrant Experience
Consider the Beatles.
Some fans argue that the band’s talent resided solely in one or two individual members. Those fans point to their post-breakup solo careers as evidence that talent wasn’t uniformly distributed amongst the members. Today we won’t examine and compare the solo work of, for example, John Lennon vs. Paul McCartney. Not only would doing so involve survivor bias, it would also run contrary to the fundamental claim that we want to make today, which is simply that the Beatles’ musical output and tremendous success was entirely dependent on the contributions of each member.
Leaving aside music, let’s turn to science. One of the first and most exciting chemistry lessons kids encounter in school is the miracle of “oxidane,” a common compound in which each molecule is composed of three individual atoms. Individually, these atoms behave quite differently than they behave when bound into a molecule. They are stabilized by what scientists call a “covalent bond,” which we might describe as a relationship of give and take. “Oxidane” is thus a model of cooperative existence, of which there are many.
Leaving aside oxidane, consider the beetles.
Roughly 400,000 species exist. Yes–that is the correct number of zeros. Four hundred thousand species of beetle walk, fly, and crawl this earth. We won’t enumerate the various ways they occupy themselves during their lonely—or social—sojourns, but we remind you of this: “No beetles means no burgers (or beets, or bananas)!
You might argue that some species of beetle damage crops. We argue that even more species perform critical ecoservices such as wood recomposition, predation of crop-destroying insects, and nutrient recycling. Yes, the flight of the bumblebee is orchestral and deserves urgent attention, but the beetle, too, contributes greatly to ecological continuity, despite getting less respect than Rodney Dangerfield. No one thinks about beetles in the same way that no one thinks about the word “oxidane.”
Returning to that first chemistry lesson, ”oxidane” is the Systematic IUPAC name for “water,” a compound in which each molecule is composed of three atoms: two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom. The contributions of hydrogen and oxygen are rarely considered when we slake our thirst, make popsicles, or take relaxing, steamy showers.
Such is life, that the demands on our attention often distract our attention from those very things that make it possible for our demands to be met. America—the idea, the promise, the covenant—is not unlike anything discussed above. This country exists, persists, and evolves only through the contribution of many, and this “many” includes many, many immigrants.
Welcome to our list of films celebrating National Immigrant Day:
America’s Family
By Anike Tourse,143 mins
On Thanksgiving Day ICE comes to the door and tears the Diaz family apart. Each family member braves their way through the crisis, while discovering unexpected reserves of love, faith and community inspiration on their journey to reunify.
Las Abogadas: Attorneys on the Front Lines of the Migrant Crisis
By Careen Shannon, Laura Seltzer-Duny, 92 mins
The Trump administration tried to shut down immigration to the United States, and even with no changes to the actual law, they nearly succeeded. Things didn't get much better when Biden came into office. But activist lawyers — mostly women — made it their mission to defend people's legal right to seek safety and refuge under our asylum law
By Laura Seltzer-Duny, 43 mins
Nobody Wants Us is an Emmy-nominated film which tells the story of some of the last refugees allowed into the United States until the end of World War II. With this first-hand account of Holocaust survivors who resettled in the U.S. in 1940, the film aims is to create a better understanding of the plight of refugees everywhere.
By Sylvia Johnson, 15 mins
Refuge(e) traces the incredible journey of two refugees who each fled violent threats to their lives in their home countries and presented themselves at the US border asking for political asylum, only to be incarcerated in for-profit prison for months on end.
By Kate Way, 50 mins
Stop Time tells the story of Lucio Pérez, a man who lived in a Massachusetts church basement for over three years in defiance of a deportation order. Lucio recounts the forces that brought him to the United States, entangled him in the immigration system, and ultimately led him to sanctuary.
By Michelle Plascencia, 68 mins
Director Pau Ortiz presents a candid story of teen siblings from Honduras, forced into parenthood as illegal immigrants in Mexico. Humorous, gritty and poignant, the film motivates audiences to feel empathy and inspire them to seek justice and break down borders.
By Luis Argueta, 58 mins
The U Turn tells the story of a group of Guatemalan immigrant women and children who broke the silence about the abuses committed against them at the Agriprocessors, Inc plant in Postville, Iowa and -thanks to the solidarity of the community that accompanied them and to the U Visa- transformed their lives.