Temporary Identity

What does it mean to belong to a place, a country? In a south Tel Aviv elementary school, that question is addressed head-on by a fourth-grade class and their teacher. The children are asylum seekers whose families mostly do not have a legal status in Israel, yet learn, sing and play in Hebrew all the while examining their identity and sense of belonging.

A letter to Nikola

As a letter to her son, the filmmaker testifies her experience as a photographer aboard the Aquarius, a ship that rescued 29,523 people in the Mediterranean between 2016 and 2018.

The Iron Triangle: Willets Point and the Remaking of New York

Targeted for several failed redevelopment plans dating back to the days of Robert Moses, Willets Point, a gritty area in New York City known as the “Iron Triangle,” is the home of hundreds of immigrant-run, auto repair shops that thrive despite a lack of municipal infrastructure support. During the last year of the Bloomberg Administration, NYC’s government advanced plans for a “dynamic” high-end entertainment district that would completely wipe out this historic industrial core. The year is 2013, and the workers of Willets Point are racing against the clock to forestall their impending eviction. Their story launches an investigation into New York City’s history as the front line of deindustrialization, urban renewal, and gentrification.

Luntano

Der grosse Kanton

Is the solution to Switzerland's future to integrate Germany into the confederation? After all, like Michael Ringier, CEO of the Ringier media group, says, blithely ignoring all minorities, we're very close in culture and language. Oskar Freysinger takes out his guitar and sings his answer. Politicians from French-speaking Switzerland and Ticino think expanding will help the country survive. The former German foreign minister thinks the two countries' traditions are too different. The banker Oswald Grübel is worried about Germany's debts, although he'd be prepared to take over its assets. With serious interviews interspersed with gags (boat people on Lake Constance, the last Habsburger as a peasant), Giaccobbo gathers off-the-cuff reactions which reveal a lot about the different mentalities. The movie laughs at preconceived notions, redefines neutrality and reflects on what designates a nation. Switzerland, which loves to teach the world a lesson, will soon helvetize the planet, oder?

Football And Immigration, 100 Years Of Common History

Football is both the place, the crystallization of sporting passion and the witness of identity imaginations. It is also an interesting and relevant area for discussing the migration issue. From the 1930s to the present day, football, notably with the composition of the French team, has reflected the plurality of the French population. Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini, Zinedine Zidane, Basile Boli... these four footballers alone illustrate the four major waves of immigration that France has experienced.

Alone

Fearing for their lives, Afshin, Alain and Patricia fled their country, without their parents, when they were only children. They had to start all over here in Canada in the hope of a better life. Combining real shooting and animated cinema, "Alone" bears the imprint of hope: how does a child manage to rebuild himself in a new country, when he has left everything behind?

Visions of Europe

Twenty-five films from twenty-five European countries by twenty-five European directors.

Calls from Moscow

A prefabricated estate in Moscow is meant as a transit stop for four queer Cuban exiles – until Russia’s attack on Ukraine radically shifts their outlook. Moving telephone calls back home provide the structure of Luís Alejandro Yero’s debut work.

Escort

Young, inexperienced members of the Dutch Boarder Patrol undergo an intensive training on escorting refused asylum seekers to their homeland.

Destination Home

A Liberian refugee SAM REAYAH and his family have been separated for five years and live in uncertainty waiting for family reunion. While Sam and his younger daughter Ruth continue their lives in Buduburam Refugee camp in Ghana, his wife Decontee and his older daughter Joyce have already started a life in Rochester, USA. The film explores the idea of home. Sam's family had a home in Liberia, but they had to give it up. They were forced to build homes elsewhere. They built a home in Ghana. They build a home in The United States. They built homes together, they build homes separate of each other. But which home does the heart want?

Morkovcha [Korean Carrot Salad]

This film tells a story of ethnic Koreans from Russia and the post-Soviet territories making their new home in New York City. The history of the diaspora is told through conversations with Lidiya Kan’s mother, personal stories, fragmented memories, and her family photo archive. An important character of the film is Morkovcha, the Korean carrot salad, an invention of the Russian Korean diaspora; its essence is symbolic of their mixed identity.

All of Me

"Take my love" is a documentary film about "Las Patronas", a group of women who daily cook, pack and throw food to the migrants riding the "Beast" train.

Elsewhere, Everywhere

A computer screen, images from the four corners of the world. We cross borders in one-click while another trip’s story reach us in bits, through text messages, chats, phone conversations, and an immigration office’s questionnaire. It’s the journey of Shahin, a 20-year-old Iranian boy who, fleeing his country alone, lands in Greece, then winds his way to England where he claims asylum.

Assimilation Memories

90's era home videos of a Mexican father starting a new life in the United States

New Home in the West

This short film traces the journey of the first Ukrainian settlers in Canada. Seeking freedom and opportunity, they came here and became instrumental in helping to open the Canadian West. Though they had little in the way of money or machinery, they had courage and faith in the future and were willing to put in the hard work. Every member of the family helped in the struggle, and in time, their efforts paid off.

Mirage à l'italienne

Save Our Souls

Bobbing around on Mediterranean waters aboard the Ocean Viking, aid workers from the French relief service SOS Méditerranée gaze at the horizon. Is that a rubber dinghy in the distance, or is it garbage? The organization sails up and down the Libyan coast looking to pick up refugees in boats. On board is a 30-strong team ready to offer help and support refugees with their asylum applications.

Baggages

This documentary focuses on immigrant teens between the ages of 12 and 17 who share the story of their migration and their adaption to life in Canada through theatre. Young but wise, these children describe their experiences with emotion and authenticity.

Europe by Bidon

Biodun is Nigerian. In this animated documentary, he tells the story of his journey on foot from Lagos to Paris, how he survives with a container (un bidon) and thanks to his courage. With his amazing patter, he transforms the events into extraordinary adventures.