Thank you to everyone (~50 of you) who joined CSFilm and the Commission on Immigrant Rights & Citizenship (CIRC) at the Cambridge Public Library on October 12, 2019 for a screening of films from the New Immigrant and Refugee Visions collection and a discussion with filmmakers and film subjects.
NIRV filmmakers Katsyris Rivera-Kientz (Puerto Rico) and Abdirahman Abdi (Somalia)
Filmmakers Abdirahman Abdi (Somalia), Katsyris Rivera-Kientz (Puerto Rico) and Mubarak Muwonge Nsamba (Uganda) opened the event with a presentation about the mission of CSFilm — to strengthen communities by amplifying local voices — as well as an introduction to the New Immigrant and Refugee Visions (NIRV) project.
The three films screened were Worlds Apart at Home, by Abdirahman Abdi; Pulse of a Dream, by Mubarak Muwonge Nsamba; and Rhythms of Respect, by Katsyris Rivera-Kientz.
Following the screening, CSFilm Founding Director Michael Sheridan and local luminary Jorge Acre (subject of Katsy’s film) joined the three filmmakers on stage for a lively discussion with audience members.
It was a powerful experience to share the work of immigrant filmmakers with the Cambridge community.
CSFilm Founding Director Michael Sheridan and local luminary Jorge Acre (subject of Katsy’s film)
Many people were eager to share their perspectives on immigration and “American culture”
Selected comments:
- “What engages me about these films is their intimacy.”
- After seeing Mubarak’s film, “I will think more about the stories of healthcare workers.”
- “I enjoyed learning how immigrants adapt to a completely different lifestyle while also struggling to maintain their native cultural identity.”
- As a mutli-generation American, “I learned that certain immigrants are exhausted by the question, Where are you from?”
- “I learned that all immigrants, regardless of their home country, share the fear and anxiety of losing their culture in the new country.”
- “I have been to several CSFilm Screen&Discuss events since the start of the NIRV project. The level of discussion and expression has risen to an incredibly high level.”
Our Screen&Discuss events are making impact around the country and you can can organize a Screen&Discuss event in your community, too!
To learn about our upcoming events and new resources, be sure to subscribe to our mailing list. And in order to continue our public engagement Screen&Discuss tour through cities and towns around America, we need your support! Please donate to CSFilm today.
Many thanks to the Cambridge Public Library, Nancy Schlacter and the Commission on Immigrant Rights & Citizenship (CIRC) for hosting and helping us organize this event.
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