NIRV Films featured in The Somerville Times

International Film Festival Movie Nights at Chuckie Harris

East Somerville Main Streets, The Welcome Project, Connexion, Cambridge Health Alliance, and Somerville Media Center are excited to turn the Chuckie Harris Park into an outdoor movie theater August 9, 2019. This year’s films cover many genres and are from filmmakers representing a wide variety of countries.

New Immigrant and Refugee Visions

Produced by Community Supported Film

Community Supported Film (CSFilm) trains women and men in underrepresented communities to use documentary filmmaking to reveal their economic and social realities. Their films are used to stimulate dialogue informed by local perspectives. During the last four months of 2017 CSFilm trained new immigrants and refugees in character-driven, scene-based documentary filmmaking. The subjects they chose, and stories produced came out of this training and production process.

New Immigrant and Refugee Visions (NIRV) is a collection of documentary films by and about new immigrants from 13 countries of origin. The films were made during a 2017-18 CSFilm training and production project. The stories produced provide a unique insider perspective on the integration challenges faced by immigrants 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.

The Films:

Borrowing Fire, by Kebrewosen Densamo : (13 mins 10s)

Campaign for a New American, by Qin Li: (10 mins 5s)

Lift with Your Heart, by Braulio Tellez-Vilches : (7 mins 47s)

Navigating Hope, by Sayed Najib Hashimi : (8 mins 12s)

Rhythms of Respect, by Katsyris Rivera-Kientz : (9 mins 20s)

Seeking Settled Ground, by Mohammad Arifuzzaman : (14 mins 11s)

She’s an American Child, by Rafael DeLeon : (10 mins 45s)

Worlds Apart at Home, by Abdirahman Abdi : (9 mins 57s)

Video Editing and Post-Production Course, 7 Online Sessions – Starts 10/21/26

Sep 11, 2026

Michael Sheridan is one of the best teachers one could hope to have. He has a genuine commitment to facilitating students’ ability to realize their vision, which is backed by a deep understanding of technology and technique. I had the pleasure of hiring Michael to teach over twenty years, and student reviews were always excellent.

Five Dark Years – the Fall of Humanity and the Silencing of a Generation

Aug 15, 2026

Five years have passed since the fall of Afghanistan—a period that, for millions of people, has meant far more than lost years. It has been five years of humiliation, deprivation, fear, silence, and the gradual erosion of hope and human dignity.

Five years ago, Afghanistan fell into the hands of a group that, instead of building a future, closed the doors of life on its people. During these five years, the Taliban have not moved toward reform or change. On the contrary, with each passing day, restrictions have expanded and life has become increasingly difficult for millions of Afghans. The rights to education, work, freedom of movement, social participation, and many of the most basic freedoms of human beings—particularly women and girls—have been taken away.