48m; U.S.
Director: Heather Courtney
Synopsis: Immigrant workers.
Contact: Women Make Movies 212-925-0606 Director: 512-371-1337; hcourtney85@hotmail.com
Category Archives: Immigrants/Immigration
Lost Boys of Sudan (2003)
87m; U.S.
Director: Megan Mylan, Jon Shenk
Cast: Santino Majok Chuor and Peter Kon Dut
Synopsis: Lost Boys of Sudan is a feature-length documentary that follows two Sudanese refugees on an extraordinary journey from Africa to America. Orphaned as young boys in one of Africa’s cruelest civil wars, Peter Dut and Santino Chuor survived lion attacks and militia gunfire to reach a refugee camp in Kenya along with thousands of other children. From there, remarkably, they were chosen to come to America. Safe at last from physical danger and hunger, a world away from home, they find themselves confronted with the abundance and alienation of contemporary American suburbia
Made in China (2007)
52m; China
Director: Jean Yves Cauchard
Synopsis: Made in China tells one of the millions of stories of migrants from rural China who comprise the backbone of the Chinese economic miracle. It provides a human face behind the ubiquitous label “Made in China.”
Made in LA (2007)
70m; U.S.
Director: Almudena Carracedo
http://www.madeinla.com/
Synopsis (IMDB): Made in L.A. follows the remarkable story of three Latina immigrants working in Los Angeles garment sweatshops as they embark on a three-year odyssey to win basic labor protections from a mega-trendy clothing retailer. In intimate verité style, Made in L.A. reveals the impact of the struggle on each woman’s life as they are gradually transformed by the experience. Compelling, humorous, deeply human, Made in L.A. is a story about immigration, the power of unity, and the courage it takes to find your voice.
Maid In America (2005)
60m; U.S.
Director: Anayansi Prado
http://impactofilms.com/maidinamerica/updates.html
Synopsis: The lives and hopes of immigrant workers.
Makom Avoda (Workplace) [1998]
81m; Israel
Director: Nurit Aviv
Synopsis: Thai workers in Israel.
The Mall
10m; Israel/Palestine
Director: Yonatan Ben Efrat
Synopsis: Living conditions of Palestinian workers inside Israel.
Contact: http://www.hanitzotz.com/video.htm
Manito (2002)
78m; U.S.
Director: Eric Eason
Cast: Leo Minaya, Jessica Morales and Franky G
Synopsis (IMDB): Fifteen years ago, their Washington Heights neighborhood was dubbed the crack-cocaine capital of the world, but today it is transforming into one of the most vibrant, Spanish-speaking communities in the United States. While the drug dealers continue to disappear, their violent legacy still casts a shadow over the neighborhood and its residents. Junior, an ex-convict struggling to get his life back on track, is a product of this legacy. His younger brother Manny, the salutatorian of his high school class, embodies the hope of the future. On the night of his graduation party, Manny finds himself faced with an ill-fated decision that could change his life forever.
Gamblers (Les Mauvais joueurs) [2005]
85m; France
Director: Frédéric Balekdjian
Cast: Pascal Elbé, Simon Abkarian and Isaac Sharry
Synopsis (IMDB): Vahé, Sahak, and Toros run a bonneteau game on the streets of Paris. They’re Lebanese French of Armenian descent. Vahé also works with his father, a cloth merchant, and is in love with Lu Ann, Chinese French, who’s broken off their affair. Vahé wants to make things right: with Lu Ann, with his father’s business, and with Yuen, Lu Ann’s younger brother, who’s on the edge of delinquency and owes money to the gang who arranged his passage from China. Vahé tries to be like a father to Yuen, teaching him a work ethic. When Yuen impetuosity puts his own life in jeopardy, Vahé tries to save him. Will Vahé’s impulses and hopes die on the streets of Paris?
The Milagro Beanfield War (1988)
117m; U.S.
Director: Robert Redford
Cast: Rubén Blades, Richard Bradford and Sonia Braga
Synopsis (IMDB): In Milagro, a small town in the American Southwest, Ladd Devine plans to build a major new resort development. While activist Ruby Archuleta and lawyer/newspaper editor Charlie Bloom realize that this will result in the eventual displacement of the local Hispanic farmers, they cannot arouse much opposition because of the short term opportunities offered by construction jobs. But when Joe Mondragon illegally diverts water to irrigate his bean field, the local people support him because of their resentment of water use laws that favor the rich like Devine. When the Governor sends in ruthless troubleshooter Kyril Montana to settle things quickly before the lucrative development is cancelled, a small war threatens to erupt.
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