New Immigrant and Refugee Visions

Films by and about Immigrants

Summary

New Immigrant and Refugee Visions (NIRV) is a collection of ten documentary films by and about immigrants. These short films provide a unique insiders’ perspective on the integration challenges immigrants face and the contributions they make to our culture, economy and social fabric. The filmmakers made these short films to engage communities in dialogue about immigrants and immigration in the United States.
Download the NIRV Project Summary (Online or Print): An introduction to the films, training process, and Screen&Discuss campaign.

Training

Building Local Capacity – Giving Voice to Immigrants and Refugees: Ten immigrants from ten countries of origin were selected, trained and mentored by CSFilm to produce short films about their fellow new immigrants and refugees. Most of the trainees had no previous experience with filmmaking but came with storytelling experience from radio, photography, video, theater, and writing. Each demonstrated a commitment to their communities and an interest to use documentary filmmaking in their ongoing work and as a tool for social and economic development.
Testimony from New Immigrant and Refugee Visions (NIRV) trainees:

“Getting to watch an editor allowed me to think as an “editor” while filming.”

“I’m a totally new person on video camera. It’s good to know the basic function of a camera in the first week.”

“I learned about general storytelling and basic principles of filmmaking. I learned the importance of holding the camera for seven seconds; thinking as an editor; analyzing the story and the different approaches to covering. I also learned how to use the tripod, our friend…”

“The 7-second rule is something great to have learned. It will change the quality of the film I will shoot in the future.”

“The lessons I have learned here are above my expectations – the explanations and the way the training is conducted is very exciting.”

“The training is interactive and open to participation by all members. It is not one of those conventional one-way approaches to learning.”

“I thought it would be hard to communicate and to be understood. But I was wrong! I feel very understood.”

“I feel that this is a unique opportunity to be here and also bonding and learning and being open/curious about each other’s culture. We all worked well with the different groups we teamed up with.”

“People are serious about this project. … Everyone is working hard, and even though we came from different parts of the world, we speak different languages, and have different cultures, we are very comfortable and productive as a team.”

Learn more about the makers and making of the New Immigrant and Refugee Visions films:

Campaign for a New American (Original 10:41, Excerpt 00:50)
Filmmaker: Qin Li
Editor: Alex Morelli; Additional Sound and Camera: Abdirahman Abdi
An Indian immigrant’s daughter campaigns to be elected as the first woman of color to the city council of a working class town that has always been a magnet for immigrants. The town, 38% new immigrant, is still being run by the offspring of last century’s immigrants. The new folks on the block will sooner or later take the reins of power and responsibility – or will they?
Themes covered: Immigrant women; Immigrant contributions; Acculturation and assimilation; Immigrant origins: Asia;
Qin Li
Emigrated from China in 2015, lives in Revere, MA
Qin is a scholar-activist focused on women’s empowerment. She began her research on women in rural China. Now she works with women and immigrants from all over the world as a volunteer at Women Encouraging Empowerment in Revere.
Worlds Apart at Home (Original 9:58, Excerpt 00:58)
Filmmaker: Abdirahman Abdi
Editor: Peter Rhodes; Additional Sound: Mubarak Muwonge Nsamba
Samira Ahmed Fiin escaped with her family from Somalia as refugees to the United States in 2007. Now she negotiates tensions between parents and teenagers – as the young try to fit into and enjoy American culture and the old try to hold on to their Somali traditions.

Themes covered: Acculturation and assimilation; Immigrant women; Faith and freedom; Refugees in America; Immigrant origins: Africa;
Abdirahman Abdi
Emigrated from Somalia in 2007, lives in Roxbury, MA
Abdi came to America as a young boy and has remained active in his local and Somali community. He has volunteered his time and multi-media production skills to advance the work of the Somali Development Center and the North American Somali Students Union. Abdi graduated in May 2018 from UMass Boston with a degree in media communications and sociology. With continued mentoring from CSFilm, he has continued since the NIRV training to produce short documentaries on economic and social issues in his Roxbury neighborhood.  Abdi was hired in 2020 as a freelance videographer and editor by Boston news station, WCVB-TV, Ch 5.
She’s an American Child (Original 10:41, Excerpt 1:18)
Filmmaker: Rafael DeLeon
Editor: Zayde Buti; Additional Sound: Sayed Hashimi; Additional Editor: Hannah Engelson
A dilemma of identity. A life of uncertainty. A woman facing domestic violence in the Dominican Republic escaped to the United States with her toddler daughter. The woman remains undocumented and her now 22-year old daughter has been granted protection by the US government through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Will one or both be deported? Will the daughter end up in the country she has not set foot in since she was five years old?

Themes covered: Immigration policy; Immigrant women and families; Acculturation and assimilation; Immigrant origins: the Caribbean;
Rafael DeLeon
Emigrated from the Dominican Republic in 2009, lives in Lynn, MA
Rafael teaches computer literacy at the KIPP Academy Charter School in Lynn, where he first learned English upon arriving in America. He co-founded The Latino Support Network and produces “Camino hacia la Integracion” (Pathways to Integration), a local TV show that interviews immigrants about the many ways they integrate into American society.

Sayed Najib Hashimi
Emigrated from Afghanistan in 2016, lives in Washington, DC
Sayed grew up in Afghanistan and was a refugee in Pakistan. He has a degree in literature from Kabul University. He worked from 2005 to 2016 as a journalist and translator with the BBC and NATO Media Group in Afghanistan. In Nov 2016 Sayed and his family were granted permanent residency through the Special Immigration Visa to the United States. Until recently he worked at the New American Center in Lynn MA assisting Afghan and other new immigrants and refugees. He and his family now live in Washington DC where Sayed was working as a Communications Officer at the Afghan Embassy until the takeover by the Taliban in 2021.  He is now working for a refugee resettlement agency in Virginia.

Lift with Your Heart (Original 7:44, Excerpt 0:45)
Filmmaker: Braulio Tellez-Vilches
Editor: Alex Morelli; Additional Camera and Sound: Patricia Goudvis, Mohammad Arifuzzaman
Choreographer Jean Appolon struggled for years to find a sense of belonging in his native Haiti and in the United States. He discovered his purpose in teaching dance to heal and engage community members of all ages and backgrounds in celebrating cultural diversity.

Themes covered: Immigrant contributions; Immigrant origins: the Caribbean;
Braulio Tellez-Vilches
Emigrated from Cuba in 2017, lives in East Boston, MA
Braulio was a professor and career diplomat in Cuba. He works at ABM Aviation as a safety and catering instructor and volunteers with Catholic Charities and the Irish International Immigrant Center. He is studying to become a Spanish teacher in the Boston Public Schools.
Seeking Settled Ground (Original 13:57, Excerpt 1:21)
Filmmaker: Mohammad Arifuzzaman
Editors: Devvrat Mishra, Zayde Buti; Translators: Mustafa Samdani, Nahina Nasrin, and Mohammad Istiak
A young Rohingya man, Mohammad Anwar, escapes persecution in his native Myanmar, survives near death as a refugee and is finally granted asylum in the United States. Now he faces unimaginable obstacles as he struggles with a new language, the need for job skills – having only worked as a subsistence farmer – and the challenges of integrating into a new world and culture. He desperately misses his family, but is grateful to be alive and learning the ways of a new life that was inconceivable just a few months ago.

Themes covered: Refugees in America; Immigration policy; Acculturation and assimilation; Faith and freedom; Immigrant origins: Asia
Mohammad Arifuzzaman
Emigrated from Bangladesh in 2015, lives in Quincy, MA
Mohammad is a software engineer with interests in music, theater and photography. He demonstrated incredible determination throughout the NIRV filmmaking process – filming all of one story only to have the family grow fearful about participating. His story about Mohammad Anwar is particularly relevant as so many Rohingya refugees have sought refuge in Bangladesh, his country of origin.
The Arranger (Original 9:30, Excerpt 1:22)
Filmmaker: Wilson Thelimo Louis
Editor: Zayde Buti
The Haitian community in Boston is almost completely self dependent, a condition common to many immigrant communities. The support they give each other helps families adjust and thrive. It also inhibits assimilation into the dominant culture. One Haitian immigrant helps other Haitian immigrants – some who have been here for decades – deal with not knowing English, and all the practical aspects of life in the US. By doing so he highlights the self-supporting and isolated nature of many immigrant communities.

Themes covered: Acculturation and assimilation; Immigrants at work; Immigrant origins: the Caribbean
Wilson Thelimo Louis
Emigrated from Haiti in 2016, lives in Hyde Park, MA
Thelimo is a poet and activist immersed in Haitian literature, social issues and politics. He studied law in Haiti and had a paralegal fellowship in Boston. As he pursues further studies he continues to volunteer and use his skills in a variety of jobs.
Rhythms of Respect (Original 9:24, Excerpt 1:43)
Filmmaker: Katsyris Rivera-Kientz
Editor: Monica Cohen; Additional Sound and Camera: Monica Cohen; Additional Editor: Zayde Buti
Dynamo Puerto Rican dancer, musician, educator, and cultural activist, Jorge Arce, fosters inclusive communities by bringing people of all ages and backgrounds together to learn about Caribbean culture. As he says and demonstrates, “When you see the audience coming out, dancing, singing, playing the instruments… and they don’t want to stop… There are changes of behavior there. Changes of attitudes. There is acceptance also. There is recognition. And there is respect.”

Themes covered: Immigrant contributions; Immigrant origins: the Caribbean
Katsyris Rivera-Kientz
Moved from Puerto Rico* in 2016, lives in Cambridge, MA
Katsy is a scholar-activist who came to Boston in 2016 to join the Transnational, Cultural and Community Studies program at the University of Massachusetts, Boston. She works closely with the Puerto Rican diaspora in the United States on issues related to Puerto Rican cultural identity and Puerto Rico’s political relationship with the United States. Currently, she is pursuing a PhD in Sociology at UMass Boston.

*Puerto Ricans are American citizens but many feel like immigrants in the US.

Borrowing Fire (Original 13:07, Excerpt 1:31)
Filmmaker: Kebrewosen Densamo
Editor: Lydia Eccles; Additional Editor: Jorgy Cruz
“In Ethiopia, growing up, we used to go to the neighbor and say, ‘Can I borrow some fire?’ because we didn’t have matches.” Yonas tells this story to his congregation as an analogy for their relationship with God, borrowing God’s “fire” to warm and feed their own lives. It also symbolizes what Yonas sees as his purpose as an immigrant – to help people in his community recover from addiction, depression and homelessness. Contrary to stereotypes about immigrants and rural Americans, Yonas finds that his immigrant heritage, accent and personality opens doors for his work as a businessman and evangelical preacher.

Themes covered: Faith and freedom; Immigrant contributions; Immigrants at work; Immigrant origins: Africa
Kebrewosen Densamo
Emigrated from Ethiopia in 2001, lives in Cambridge, MA
Kebrewosen has a degree in public health and works at Boston Children’s Hospital. Arriving in the United States in 2001 as a young girl, she has a special understanding of the challenges for youth in migration. She is actively involved with her local cable access station and hopes to use documentary filmmaking to integrate her love of film and her infectious desire to help people.
Pulse of a Dream (Original 11:13, Excerpt 1:46)
Filmmaker: Mubarak Muwonge Nsamba
Editor: Zayde Buti; Additional Editor: Heather Cassano
Why do different ethnic groups end up pigeon-holed in particular industries: Vietnamese flooring refinishers, Ugandan and Haitian health workers…? A Ugandan immigrant turns the camera on himself and his family as he struggles to understand why he, his wife and most of their fellow Ugandans, with degrees in other professions, are working as nursing assistants. He’s surprised to discover that the Ugandan version of the American dream involves taking care of America’s sick and elderly.

Themes covered: Immigrants at work; Immigrant origins: Africa;
Mubarak Muwonge Nsamba
Emigrated from Uganda in 2017, lives in Lowell, MA
Mubarak studied forestry in Uganda, but worked in IT, website design and digital filmmaking. His wife, Zaamu, studied Library Sciences and worked as an academic librarian. They applied for and won the Diversity Green Card lottery, which allowed them to come with their four young children to the US.

Organize a Screen&Discuss

The New Immigrant and Refugee Visions filmmakers made their films to stimulate dialogue among audiences with diverse backgrounds and opinions. Screen&Discuss events are presented to increase understanding of different lived experiences and to motivate new thinking, behavior and action oriented toward a more welcoming society.

We are looking for locations and hosts to Screen&Discuss a selection of the New Immigrant and Refugee Visions films online and, post virus, in-person. Learn how you can host a Screen&Discuss.

To maximize the impact of these events, you can help us reach people in your community who are both welcoming and resistant to new immigrants.

Special Thanks

Special Thanks to our Funders:

McMillan Stewart Foundation, Marika Foundation for Social Action, Jeanne Steig, Pathfinder Fund, Viram Foundation, Patricia Davis and Wesley Callender, Keating Family Charitable Fund, Anuradha Desai, Mary Mackay and Edward Wheatley, Amelie Ratliff, Schrafft Charitable Trust, Richard and Dorothy Koerner, Christine Arveil and Benoit Rolland, Vishakha Desai and Bob Oxnam, Antara Desai and Arjun Menon, Paul and Patricia Fullagar, Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, Robert Lee Buchanan, Anonymous, Barbara Martin, Swati Desai and Gary Stephens, Katherine Yeh and Jack Spence, The Shimkin Foundation, The Chavda Family, Julie and Abhijit Desai, The First Church of Wenham, …and hundreds of individual donors like you! Thank You!

Special Thanks:

Samira Ahmed Fiin, family and community; Caryn Anderson; Rosi, Brian and Alisa Amador; Mohammad Anwar; Jean Appolon, family and community; Jorge Arce and community; Christine Arveil; Yonas Badi and community; Mani Biswa, family and community; Damien Boutillon; Sara Bouvier; Jordy Brazo; Alla Brikman; Julie Brown; Junior Buissereth and community; Zayde Buti; Karen Carpenter; Kate Carpenter-Bernier; Hugo Carvajal; Monica Cohen; Samantha Corsini; Jorgy Cruz; Anuradha Desai; Lydia Eccles; Mary Elizabeth Ford; Patricia Goudvis; Cheryl Hamilton; Lor Holmes; Kenny Kozol; Hannah Lee; Julie Mallozzi; Denise Marika; Carolina Melgarejo; Pablo Minier; Alex Morelli; Zaamu Namigadde, family and friends; Rosalyn Negron; Sarah Poole; Stephanie Scherpf; Gary Shaw; Susan Steele; Reverend Evan Thayer; Aka Rahmatullah; Lata Rana, Dimple Rana and family; Peter Rhodes; Jerry Rubin; Annabelle and Esther; Abdirahman Yusuf; 3 Dimensions Health Services; Boston Public Libraries and Librarians; Brighton High School; Brookline High School; Cambridge Community Television; Church of St Augustine and St Martin staff and community; City of Boston Office for Immigrant Advancement; Dance Complex; El Oriental de Cuba; Evangelical Christian Nepali Church; Follen Community Church; International Institute of New England; Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center; Jewish Vocational Services; KIPP Acadamy; Lynn Community Health Center; New American Center; Sol y Canto; Somali Development Center; Spontaneous Celebrations; Women Encouraging Empowerment

Training and Production Team: