logo

working immigrants

27 movies and shows

Souleymane's Story

Souleymane's Story

Wed, 09 Oct 2024

As he pedals through the streets of Paris to deliver meals, Souleymane recounts his story. In two days, he has to go through his asylum application interview, the key to obtaining papers, but Souleymane is not ready.

Post Term

Post Term

Wed, 08 Mar 2023

Expecting their first child, a married couple struggles to find romance and connection while building a new life together in America.

The Abandoned

The Abandoned

Fri, 08 Sep 2023

When a mysterious corpse is found in a river, a distressed police officer delves into a string of grisly murders as danger quickly approaches.

The Other Side of Hope

The Other Side of Hope

Fri, 03 Feb 2017

A restaurateur befriends a Syrian refugee who has recently arrived in Finland.

Elise, or Real Life

Elise, or Real Life

Wed, 25 Nov 1970

In the middle of the Algerian war, Elise, from Bordeaux, “goes” to Paris to join her brother to earn her living in an automobile factory. There she meets Arezki, an Algerian nationalist activist with whom she falls in love. A chronicle of working life at the time and which highlights the extent of police repression against Algerians.

Mayor of Lowell

Mayor of Lowell

Fri, 21 Mar 2025

This short documentary chronicles the culture and arts of Cambodian Americans and the Lowell, MA community through the eyes of Sokhary Chau, the first Cambodian American Mayor in the United States. Chau immigrated to the U.S. at seven years old to escape the Khmer Rouge genocide. Through this unique story that showcases the best of Lowell—immigrant success, assimilation, history, and the development of the arts—we see a man born into a war-torn country who comes to America to be a first-in-the-nation leader.

So Much To Do- So little Time

So Much To Do- So little Time

Tue, 23 Jul 2024

The story of four young people, ShinAe Ahn who is transgender, and three others, pan-sexual, gay, and lesbian respectively, who are fed up with the oppressive and authoritarian conservative government and its influence on the country. ShinAe Ahn decides to run for the office of prime minister, with the help of her friends and supporters. She meets a lot of caring people, and also a lot of haters. The current Prime Minister is not at all tolerant of the LGBTQIA+ community and is trying his hardest to stop any party that does not follow the orders of the conservative government from running without any logical reason to do so. That creates a political divide within the country, as politicians will attack anyone who is and/or who acts differently, or who stands up for people/themselves who they personally don't like. This story however is being told after the fact, a few years after the election, when ShinAe won as prime minister.

Polaris

Polaris

Wed, 27 Jun 2012

Work. Eat. Sleep. And back to work. For a long time skippers in the North East of Scotland could not find locals to work on their fishing vessels. That was until Filipino fishermen started coming to town for work. Both nationalities strive to shorten the distance between two very different worlds.

Le Bougnoul

Le Bougnoul

Wed, 23 Apr 1975

A construction worker on a construction site in the Paris suburbs, Mehdi takes the bus to return home after work. Wishing to get off while the vehicle is stationary in a traffic jam, the driver refuses: while restarting, the bus hits the car in front of it. The bus driver attacks Mehdi whom he holds responsible for the incident, claiming that it is forbidden to “talk to the stagehand”. Mehdi is implicated in court and his lawyer tries to draw attention to the living conditions of immigrant workers.

La legge è tua il figlio è mio

La legge è tua il figlio è mio

Thu, 23 Jan 2025

The Italian children who grew up in Switzerland between 1950 and 1970 were considered illegal. The law allowed guest workers to work, but not to raise their children here. Many seasonal workers defied the legislation because they wanted to keep their family together. Their children, who now live well integrated in Switzerland, look back on the difficult time of their childhood.

Don't Come Back by the Same Way

Don't Come Back by the Same Way

Mon, 22 Nov 1965

The story of a few untrained construction workers from poor underdeveloped parts of the country, such as Bosnia and Herzegovina or Macedonia, who carry out seasonal work in the highly-developed republic of Slovenia. Far from home, problems arise for the men - with their families, alcohol, the local population's derision and the "real Slovenian workers".

La Uva

La Uva

Mon, 05 Feb 2024

This feature length documentary tells the story of three Latino wine makers in California's Napa Valley. From their humble beginnings as immigrant laborers working the grape harvests in California, to their now formidable positions as wine makers and wine consultants, they are witnesses to the new era of the American dream. Journey from their homes in Mexico, to immigrants working the fields of Napa, to success in the highly competitive industry of wine making. It is not just the story of immigrants or wine makers, it is a story of the pursuit of a dream.

The Fields of Immokalee

The Fields of Immokalee

Invalid Date

For decades, migrant workers have worked the fields of Immokalee, harvesting tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, oranges and other produce that is then shipped across the United States of America. Many of the workers are undocumented, and attempting to keep their jobs even as federal migration crackdowns hover over the town. The Fields of Immokalee film follows the daily lives of tomato workers, from the 5:00am trips to the parking lot in hopes of finding day labor, to work sessions in the scorching mid-day heat, to child detention centers for migrant youth that have been separated from their families. Via these vignettes, the film offers insight into the most volatile political issue of our time.

Indian in a Box

Indian in a Box

Tue, 29 Jul 2025

An Indian immigrant awakens inside a confined metal box, with the walls slowly closing in... unless he can do the work assigned to him.

The Taste of Pho

The Taste of Pho

Fri, 03 Jul 2020

A Warsaw-based Vietnamese cook struggles to fit into the European culture, which his ten-year-old daughter has already embraced as her own. A story about love, misunderstanding and food.

Welcome Back, Farewell

Welcome Back, Farewell

Thu, 30 Dec 2021

Parents and children are reunited after 13 years apart. This is the starting point of the film, which follows the process of affective reconstruction of director Marcos Yoshi's family, crossed by the flow of migrations between Brazil and Japan, known as the dekassegui phenomenon. The story of a family of Japanese descent torn between the need to make a living and the desire to stay together.

Les Trois Cousins

Les Trois Cousins

Wed, 04 Mar 1970

The Three Cousins ​​is a comedy-drama by René Vautier released in 1970 about the living conditions of three Algerian immigrant cousins ​​looking for work in Paris. Housed in a narrow construction shed, the coal stove will cause them to suffocate. The Three Cousins ​​won the Best Human Rights Film Award in Strasbourg in 1970.

Of Another Place

Of Another Place

Invalid Date

On a Summer afternoon, Pedro packs the last few boxes before having to leave his apartment in New York. 12 years ago, Pedro and Ana had arrived in America from Portugal, in search of a dream. Now, Ana's voice describes, from the other side of the ocean, that same country to which they are returning. As the rooms are emptied, Pedro bids farewell to one life, welcoming another. But the dream that brought him will remain forever in the city that never sleeps, awaiting his return.

We Are Not Our Parents

We Are Not Our Parents

Sun, 18 Aug 2024

Reserved by Citroën for immigrant workers, the Aulnay-sous-Bois factory experienced its first strike in 1982. Thirty years later, it's the turn of a new generation to join the fight. Worthy heirs of their parents, the workers revive a forgotten memory and offer a unique perspective on the history of contemporary France. Matteo Severi's film mirrors these two social struggles, led by workers from immigrant backgrounds.

24 Days in Brooks

24 Days in Brooks

Mon, 01 Jan 2007

Over the course of a decade Brooks, Alberta, transformed from a socially conservative, primarily white town to one of the most diverse places in Canada as immigrants and refugees flocked to find jobs at the Lakeside Packers slaughterhouse. This film is a portrait of those people working together and adapting to change through the first-ever strike at Lakeside.