11th Annual Immigration Film Fest

Welcome to the 2024 Immigration Film Fest! The Immigration Film Fest is hosted by KAMA DC, a volunteer-run nonprofit dedicated to providing a platform for immigrants and refugees in the DMV to share their skills and stories. Now in the festival's 11th year, we are bringing you a hybrid film festival with virtual screenings for 29 films via Eventive and four in-person screenings in Washington, DC from October 17-20

The screenings will be hosted at a variety of venues in downtown DC and each screening feature Q&A with film directors or other expert speakers.Welcome to the 2024 Immigration Film Fest, now organized by KAMA DC! This October we are bringing you a hybrid film festival with virtual screenings via Eventive.

Schedule:

Thursday, October 17, 2024 

7:00 - 9:30 PM

Family Ties: Doubles with DelMar

Join us at E Street Cinema to enjoy two films exploring what family ties mean for immigrants. The screening will kick off with the short film DelMar, about a young surfer from El Salvador who moves to Maryland to reunite with her mother. This will be followed by the first feature film in our weekend’s lineup, Doubles, which tells the original story of a Trinidadian street vendor who travels to Toronto and must decide if he will save his estranged father from dying. After the films, we'll hear from the director of DelMar, Lucy Morales Carlisle!

Lucy Morales Carlisle is two-time Emmy-nominated, two-time Webby winner and a multi-disciplinary filmmaker with over a decade of experience in digital media and post-production. She received her BFA from the School of Visual Arts and a MFA in Media Arts from The City College of New York. As an immigrant displaced by the Salvadoran Civil War, her work deals with themes of identity and displacement.

Doubles

A Trinidadian street vendor must travel to Toronto and decide if he will help save his estranged father from dying.

DelMar

A young surfer on the cusp of adulthood navigates life between two worlds. Brenda spent the majority of her life in El Zonte, El Salvador, a rural beach town famous for its surf. Brenda began competing at the age of 15 and quickly rose through the ranks locally, making her dreams of traveling and surfing around the world seemingly more attainable. In 2017, however, Brenda moved to Maryland, a state not known for its beaches nor its perfect waves, to reunite with her mother, whom she had never met. Brenda now has to figure out how to navigate the two worlds to which she belongs. Back home in El Zonte, she's a respected surfer who is part of a larger community; in Maryland, she is just another immigrant to the United States. DelMar is a short documentary about displacement and inter-generational loss and triumph.

Location:
Landmark E-Street Cinema
555 11th St NW,
Washington, DC 20004

Friday, October 18, 2024

7:00 - 9:30 PM

Language: Itu Ninu with 22 Words

Join us at Planet Word's Friedman Family Auditorium for two special films focused on language and the power it holds for migrant communities. Opening the event, the short film 22 Words depicts a heart-warming Urdu lesson between father and daughter that reveals how language can connect one to culture. Then we'll enjoy Itu Ninu, an original sci-fi film following two climate refugees in the future who connect with one another over the shared indigenous language that only they can speak. After the films, we'll hear from the director of Itu Ninu, Itandehui Jansen!

Itandehui Jansen was born in Oaxaca, Mexico and studied film directing at the Netherlands Film Academy in Amsterdam. She participated in different international training programs, such as the BERLINALE TALENTS, The BINGER FILM LAB, and the TORINO FILM LAB. Her films have screened at international festivals such as the IDFA (International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam), FICM (Morelia International Film Festival), Washington D.C. Shorts, ZINEBI, the London Short Film Festival, and SLAMDANCE. Her films have received several international awards and she was nominated for the Mexican Film Critics Award Diosa de Plata. Her feature drama film In Times of Rain won the Award for Best Emerging Feature Film at the Oaxaca Film Fest.

Itu Ninu

In a highly controlled smart city in the year 2084, two climate migrants try to connect through old-fashioned letters.

22 Words

A father and a daughter converse about the meaning or words. What starts off like a simple Urdu lesson intended for a 5-year-old reveals something deeper, hinting at themes of cultural loss, immigrant life and the father's longing to belong.

Location:
Planet Word
925 13th St NW,
Washington, DC 20005

Saturday, October 19, 2024 

7:00 - 9:30 PM

Self-Expression: Ultimate Citizens with Los Sandy's + Little Sahara

For our keynote program of the festival, witness three documentary films exploring children's self-expression at the MLK Jr. Memorial Library. The visually-stunning short film Los Sandy's tells the story of a young group of siblings finding success in their musical talent. Then, prepare to laugh and cry during the short film, Little Sahara, which, through their own creativity, tells the story of Sahrawi refugee children. Our final film, Ultimate Citizens, follows an immigrant teacher and coach of an Ultimate Frisbee team devoted to the immigrant children in his school. A filmmaker Q&A with the director of Los Sandy's, Jaime Puerta, will follow the films!

Jaime Puerta is a director and producer with almost ten years of experience creating documentaries about humanitarian efforts and natural disasters. He is the head of production at Tzu Chi USA, overseeing over 150 documentary projects each year, from the initial concept to the final delivery. Currently, he is presenting "Los Sandy's," a poignant short documentary highlighting the resilience of a Mexican immigrant family. Additionally, Jaime is the founder of the production company A FILMS. His portfolio includes includes works with brands such as Vogue, Carolina Herrera, Marriott, Desigual, Sorel, and TAG-Heuer, including the award-winning commercial “TAG-morphosis.” He has directed music videos for Husbandry (USA), Jean-Paul (Spain), and Nung Nung (Taiwan).

Los Sandy's

Julia, a Mexican immigrant and widow with seven children, must leave her family home of 18 years. Despite the uncertainty ahead, her children offer hope with their unique musical talent.

Little Sahara

Those who do not know the Sahara think there is only sand in the desert. But in the desert there are children who play and draw and make movies, and who would like to not have to think about the war. In the desert there's a European colony, an occupied country called Western Sahara, where there are thousands of Sahrawi refugees living a hard life in exile. "Little Sahara" tells their story, the story of a supportive, resilient people who try to thrive and grow in the Hamada, where everything has a hard time growing.

Ultimate Citizens

Filmed at Seattle’s Hazel Wolf K-8 school, ULTIMATE CITIZENS introduces Jamshid Khajavi, an Iranian American immigrant, school counselor, chicken rescuer, and Ultimate Frisbee coach tirelessly devoted to the city’s immigrant kids. Jamshid helps his students find belonging on their way to compete in the world’s largest Frisbee tournament.

Location:
MLK Jr. Memorial Library
The Auditorium, 5th Floor
901 G St NW, Washington, DC

Sunday, October 20, 2024

4:00 - 6:30 PM

Short Films: Migration and Memory

Remembering your home and roots is a crucial part of every individual's journey, and for immigrants, memory can bring complex emotions of nostalgia, grief, and connection. Join us at Edlavitch DCJCC to watch a collection of five short films that each touch on how memory plays an important role for immigrants and their communities. This lovely collection use film to explore how the memory of neighborhoods, of people who we have left behind, or lives we thought we might have, shape who we are across space and time. We'll hear from the directors of Catch the Moon, Schantelle Alonzo, and Mom, Darinka Arones, following the screening!

Schantelle Alonzo, known online as "Mishipiku", is a Filipina-American multidisciplinary artist and animator finding her roots in Chicago. With a 6-year background of making social justice theater with Albany Park Theater Project, she strives to tell stories of underrepresented communities and immigrants. Schantelle will be graduating from the School of Visual Arts with a BFA in Animation this spring and will be looking for exciting new projects to work on!

Darinka Arones is a Peruvian interdisciplinary artist based in New York City. She is pursuing a BFA in Film and TV with a minor in Studio Art at New York University. Darinka focuses on the directing, editing, and cinematography aspects of filmmaking.

Querido Pequeño Haiti

A love letter to a place that will forever be home, a visual ode, and a farewell to a neighborhood that is rapidly changing due to the forces of gentrification and Miami’s housing crisis.

a film is a goodbye that never ends

A woman awaiting her US visa befriends a dog named Turbo. When it’s time to part, she says goodbye the only way she knows how—she makes a movie.

Mom

For the first time after 17 years, a mom, Erika; and her daughter, Darinka, discuss about what it meant for Erika to leave Darinka at 3 years old––in order to migrate abroad in an undocumented status.

Catch the Moon

Javi's father has left for America to provide for the family. Javi grasps with his absence as he ponders the moon, pretending to catch it as his father once said he would do for him. The film is a testimony of hope as Javi copes with the distance from someone he loves.

Crossings

Crossings is a medium-length documentary that addresses the way in which migrant children and adolescents make sense of an experience they did not choose. Located in Chile, in their school space, they recall a journey full of challenges: the grief of leaving their homeland, the fear, loneliness and discrimination. At the same time, it shows how they have been able to adapt, what experiences have helped them and what they have learned. In this choral narrative, students of different ages reconstruct the memory of their longed-for home, while dreaming, playing and adapting to a foreign land. This documentary tries to bring a fresh and humane look at involuntary migration due to economic, political and humanitarian crises.

Location:

Edlavitch DCJCC JxJ
1529 16th Street NW,
Washington, DC 20001

Buy Tickets

Date: October 17 - 20, 2024

Locations:

Various Venues in Washington, DC

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