Film Group Mar 30, 2022

Series Fourteen –  Immigration

Zoom discussions of each film will take place on last Wednesdays at 4pm: Jan 26, Feb 23 and Mar 30

Hosted by John LeBlanc

To join the group, please email john.leblanc @ ubc.ca

Series Fourteen: Immigration continues to become a central reality of our time, increasing in scale and complexity and eliciting a wide range of responses from positive promotion (Canada desires and needs more immigrants) to condemnation (strong man countries erecting walls of various sorts).  Feature films have addressed issues of immigration since film began in the late 19th century, but our series will focus on more recent efforts, beginning with El Norte from 40 years ago when the general public was just beginning to gain a more in-depth awareness of such social issues.  Mediterranea provides a more contemporary (and more geographically removed) window into the situation facing immigrants.  Finally, Amreeka sees immigrant experience from a more positive perspective, adding balance to the seemingly insurmountable problems. 

Mar 30 – Amreeka (2009) – directed by Cherien Dabis (and based on her family’s experiences) tells about an Arab single mother (Muna) and son (Fadi) from Bethlehem who are fed up with navigating West Bank checkpoints.  Unexpectedly, Muna’s green card application approved, they move to small town suburban Illinois, joining her sister Raghda’s family.  Denied work in her previous career of banking Muna begins her search for the American Dream at the local White Castle fast food restaurant.  Set in 2003 at the start of the second Iraq war, anti-Arab/Muslim sentiment has been building, with her son bullied at the local high school as a terrorist.  Employing some popular film devices of plot clichés and one-dimensional characters, the film, nevertheless, provides insights into immigrant experience.  STREAMING AVAILABLE THROUGH THE UBC LIBRARY CATALOGUE.