Jaddoland

Was lebst Du?

2004

I followed the everyday lives of Ali, Kais, Ertan and Alban with my camera for over two years. The time was characterized by disappointments, conflicts and also great successes. It all began with a visit to the "Klingelpütz" youth center in the middle of Cologne. Young migrants have been meeting here for many years.

Giap's Last Day At The Ironing Board Factory

2015

In 1975, a seven-months pregnant Vietnamese refugee, Giap, escapes Saigon in a boat and, within weeks, finds herself working on an assembly line in Seymour, Indiana. 35 years later, her aspiring filmmaker son, Tony, decides to document her final day of work at the last ironing board factory in America.

The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)

2008

Co-directed by acclaimed cinematographer Ellen Kuras and subject Thavisouk Phrasavath, this haunting documentary chronicles a refugee family’s epic journey from Laos in the aftermath of the secret war waged by the United States there to New York, where they find themselves fighting a different kind of war on the streets of Brooklyn. Filmed over the course of 23 years, THE BETRAYAL is a visually and emotionally stunning look at the complex ways in which the political shapes the personal.

Shelter

2021

Fleeing religious persecution, resilient Jewish immigrants arrive in Toronto and begin building affordable, quality housing in a growing metropolis.

Slowly Forgetting Your Faces

2021

Two men, the hint of a sofa corner and a pile of letters. Using minimalist means, the film tells the story of two brothers caught between exile in a foreign country and resistance in the underground. It takes us back to the time when the revolution seized power in Iran and tells of life between the fronts. Daniel Asadi Faezi sketches the story of his father and his brothers - based on correspondence that has lain in the cellar for 30 years.

Return Home

1992

After the near death of her grandfather, Chinese Canadian filmmaker Michelle Wong embarks on a personal journey back home to her small town of St. Paul, Alberta to speak to her grandparents about their journey from China to Canada.

Long Story Short

2008

Tells the story of Larry and Trudie Long, a popular Asian American nightclub act of the '40s and '50s, told through the eyes of their daughter, actress Jodi Long.

See You, Lovable Strangers

2017

Follows Vietnamese migrant workers, to examine the reasons behind their numerous escapes and to trace the family situations of those who were deported from Taiwan.

Rules of Single Life

2011

A Finnish documentary follows four young men who have one year to find new love in Helsinki.

De okända utvandrarna

1991

Documentary about Swedish emigration to Argentina via Brazil.

If Stone Could Speak

2008

Stonecutters emigrated from northern Italy to Barre, Vermont, the "Granite Capital of the World." Follow the artisans and their families from quarries, workshops and schools in Italy to granite carving sheds in New England, as they seek their own identities, choosing what to keep and what to cut away from their American and Italian legacies.

The Man with the Lantern

2018

Kristina från Duvemåla - en konsertresa till Minnesota

1996

Documents the highlights of a concert version of the musical written by former ABBA members Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, performed in Minnesota. Based on a series of novels detailing a family's poverty-driven migration from Sweden to America in the mid-19th century, we also meet some of the descendants to the emigrants.

… And the Pursuit of Happiness

1986

In 1986, Louis Malle examines the immigrant experience in America by interviewing newcomers from various professions nationwide, highlighting their struggles in a multicultural society.

Shipbuilder

1985

This film recreates the true story of Tom Sukanen, an eccentric Finnish immigrant who homesteaded in Saskatchewan in the 1920s and 1930s. Sukanen spent ten years building and moving overland a huge iron ship that was to carry him back to his native Finland. The ship never reached water.