By-Standing: The Beginning of an American Lifetime

More About By-Standing: The Beginning of an American Lifetime from Director Karen Lin By-Standing is the collision…
Official selection of the Seventh Annual Festival

Day Job

Filmmaker Sara Hopman

From the beginning, filmmaking and positive social change have always gone hand-in-hand for me. After working with non-profit organizations such as Environment California, the Human Rights Campaign, and CalPIRG, I was further inspired to use my strengths in filmmaking to help facilitate progress in our communities. In October of 2009, I had the opportunity to create a film that could make such an impact—Day Job.

We’ve all seen day laborers standing and waiting in public places, but most of us pass by without thinking twice. I wanted to discover the story behind these workers—who are they and what are their lives like? This is a current, pressing issue, commonly ignored by the media; this is a group of people with little to no voice in our society; this is happening right now, in my city, and many cities across the country.

During the making of my film, I found Faye, a temporary employer of laborers. She has an extraordinary perspective that I felt I had to share with the world. With the help of four translators, which included two crewmembers, I was able to record the images and voices of a shunned community, for all the world to see.

Exiled in America

More about Exiled in America from Director Angela Torres Camarena Exiled in America explores immigration United States,…
Official selection of the Ninth Annual Festival

Face to Face: Stories from the Aftermath of Infamy

Face to Face, produced by Rob Mikuriya, connects the experiences of Japanese-Americans in the early 1940s with…
Official selection of the Third Annual Festival

Immersion

More about Immersion from Director Richard Levien Casting was probably the most important part of making Immersion.…
Official selection of the Ninth Annual Festival

Is My Neighbor Latino?

Is My Neighbor Latino? was produced and directed by Jorge Aguirre and commissioned by Latino Public Broadcasting…
Official selection of the Third Annual Festival

Isa’s Final Draft

Global Action Project

The Youth Breaking Borders producers chose to focus on this issue because it directly impacts the majority of the group as well as many youth in the Immigrant community. By choosing to focus on the personal journey of a young undocumented woman, the youth producers highlighted both the interpersonal (an immigrant parent who doesn’t understand the institutional challenges that their child face) and institutional (the young person’s struggles with a system that blocks her from rights to an education) challenges that disempower their community. The filmmakers wanted to portray these struggles but also shed light on how the road to organizing starts with personal empowerment.

La Hoja

More about La Hoja from Director Gabrielle Weiss I was approached by the Pulitzer Center on Crisis…
Official selection of the Ninth Annual Festival

Rights on the Line: Vigilantes at the Border

More About Rights on the Line: Vigilantes at the Border from Producer WITNESS Rights on the Line:…
Official selection of the Seventh Annual Festival

The Next Wave

More about The Next Wave from Director Jennifer Redfearn The Next Wave presents the human face of…
Official selection of the Ninth Annual Festival

The Rules of the Game

More About The Rules of the Game from Directors and Producers Garance Burke and Monica Lam Garance…
Official selection of the Sixth Annual Festival

The Sixth Section

More About The Sixth Section from Director Alex Rivera I grew up in a strange immigrant household.…
Official selection of the Fourth Annual Festival

Vision Test

Wes Kim is the writer/director of Vision Test as well as co-director of the Seattle-based AIVF Salon,…
Official selection of the Third Annual Festival

Why Do White People Have Black Spots?

More about More about Why Do White People Have Black Spots? from Anya Kandel This film is…
Official selection of the Ninth Annual Festival