Forastero

Between Lands

October 2023 •Spanish

A long time ago, Ana Laura, Gustavo, and Jesús crossed the border in search of a better opportunity. They worked hard, built a family, and made a life in the United States. Day by day, years after their arbitrary deportations to Mexico, they deal with the grief of being separated from their families. As time goes by, the shattered existence of everyone is slowly and inevitably rebuilt, far away and apart from each other.

Special Flight

August 2011 •French

Switzerland still carries out special flights, where passengers, dressed in diapers and helmets, are chained to their seats for 40 hours at worst. They are accompanied by police officers and immigration officials. The passengers are flown to their native countries, where they haven't set foot in in up to twenty years, and where their lives might be in danger. Children, wives and work are left behind in Switzerland. Near Geneva, in Frambois prison, live 25 illegal immigrants waiting for deportation. They are offered an opportunity to say goodbye to their families and return to their native countries on a regular flight, escorted by plain-clothes police officers. If they refuse this offer, the special flight is arranged fast and unexpectedly. The stories behind the locked cells are truly heartbreaking.

Lessons for Zafirah

February 2011 •Spanish

A metaphor of the Flood in our times, The Flood is the rain of violence that washes over us. Noah´s Ark is the train that runs through Mexico toward the United States and migrants are the species attempting to save their lives. For the directors, cinema moves people not just by condemnation, but by confronting and fostering emotions which lead to new, constructive ideas. This documentary became a cinematographic diary for their first viewer, their three-year-old daughter, Zafirah.

Escape from the World's Most Dangerous Place

April 2012 •English

Successful model Samira Hashi makes an emotional return to Somalia, one of the most dangerous places in the world and the place she was born. Civil war broke out in 1991, 10 days after Samira's birth, but two years later her family managed to flee the country and she grew up in the UK.Now, as Samira and the war both turn 21, she's going back for the first time to visit the people and places she left behind. The contrast with her safe and glamorous life in London could not be starker as she experiences firsthand the war's effect on a generation of young people growing up in conflict.

Oaxacalifornia: The Return

October 2021 •Spanish

The Mejia family emigrated from Oaxaca to Fresno, California 40 years ago. Filmmaker Trisha ZIff filmed the family in 1996, and returns now to see the changes that have settled over them, and follows the family on their return to Mexico.

Amazing Journeys

October 1999 •English

By land, by air, and by sea, viewers can now experience the struggle that millions of creatures endure in the name of migration as wildlife photographers show just how deeply survival instincts have become ingrained into to the animals of planet Earth. From the monarch butterflies that swarm the highlands of Mexico to the birds who navigate by the stars and the millions of red crabs who make the perilous land journey across Christmas Island, this release offers a look at animal instinct in it's purest form.

Viramundo

January 1965 •Portuguese

Viramundo shows the saga of the northeastern migrants that arrive in São Paulo, beginning with a train arriving and ending with a train leaving São Paulo in a cycle repeated every day. Viramundo's aim was to question why the military coup d'état in Brazil happened without any popular resistance or revolution or reaction of the society.

A 3 Minute Hug

November 2018 •Spanish

As daylight breaks between the border cities of El Paso, Texas, and Juarez, Mexico, undocumented migrants and their relatives, divided by a wall, prepare to participate in an activist event. For three minutes, they’ll embrace in no man’s land for the briefest and sweetest of reunions.

Deportation Class

June 2017 •German

Documentary about a "transportation commando" in Germany with the goal to deport 200 people to Albania...

The Wildebeest Migration: Nature's Greatest Journey

December 2012 •English

Every year, on the steppes of the Serengeti, the most spectacular migration of animals on our planet: Around two million wildebeest, Burchell's zebra and Thomson's gazelles begin their tour of nearly 2,000 miles across the almost treeless savannah. For the first time, a documentary captures stunning footage in the midst of this demanding journey. The documentary starts at the beginning of the year, when more than two million animals gather in the shadow of the volcanoes on the southern edge of the Serengeti in order to birth their offspring. In just two weeks, the animal herd's population has increased by one third, and after only two days, the calves can already run as fast as the adults The young wildebeest in this phase of their life are the most vulnerable to attacks by lions, cheetahs, leopards or hyenas. The film then follows the survivors of these attacks through the next three months on their incredible journey, a trip so long that 200,000 wildebeest will not reach the end.

Parrot at the Milk Bar

October 2014 •Spanish

A humorous observation in Barcelona’s immigrant neighbourhood El Raval. Four barber shops, four places of remembrance, strange time and space capsules inhabited by people who left their home to find a better one, while the Spaniards are about to leave their own country themselves.

Derby c.1938 - Eisner Personal Film

January 1938 •English

Charming amateur film featuring the Eisner family, who emigrated to Britain from Romania the year this film was made.

2017 Oscar Nominated Short Films: Documentary

February 2017 •English

Viacrucis Migrante

January 2017 •Spanish

A documentary film about men, women, and children fleeing northward from the existential threats in their home countries of Honduras, El Salvador, and Guatemala. They embark on a perilous journey with an uncertain outcome. Shortly after crossing the southern Mexican border, they find shelter with people who want to help them survive the ordeal of the at least 1,700-kilometer journey to the US.

Homebound

August 2022 •Indonesian

Through first person narration, Tari reveals personal stories related to her decision to work in Taiwan, her strained family relationships, the risks involved in working abroad and the traps she has fallen into.

Liubov

August 2022 •Russian

Liubov, a Russian lady who lives in Mexico City. During the routine of her day, Liubov will recall the experiences she had with death, from childhood to adulthood.

The Great Serengeti

Invalid date •English

The Serengeti is a vast ecosystem, home to a dazzling variety of life, and the site of the largest migration on the planet. Woodland, riverbank forests and swamps provide cover for dozens of mammal species and more than 350 varieties of bird. The fate of these animals is intimately bound with the ever changing landscape. The passage from the rainy season to the dry season means there is no rest and no stability. Those who dwell here must remain in constant motion to survive. For months they live in hope of the returning rains that will put an end to their struggle and reward their efforts.

The Pigeons of Lahore

March 2024 •Urdu

The parallel stories of four Pakistani immigrants in Greece become the trigger for the director to explore the story of his father, a worker in the Perama Shipyard. The background unfolds a most deadly shipwreck, Libyan immigrants found in limbo, as well as a (possibly racist) crime, which was committed during the shooting of this film.

Adrift: People of a Lesser God

June 2010 •English

ADRIFT- People of a Lesser God is the story of an incredible odyssey made by several-times Pulitzer Prize-nominated undercover reporter Dominique C. Mollard. In this gripping story, Mollard sails with 38 African migrants, among them a five-month-old baby, out of West Africa on a quest to reach the golden shores of Europe. All aboard are packed together like sardines in a leaky fishing canoe as they set off under full moon on their harrowing journey. ADRIFT-People of a Lesser God captures the struggle of these desperate migrants as they brave their way across the cold Atlantic, risking their lives in search for a better future. —Ziad H. Hamzeh

Porta d’Europa

December 2023 •English

A migrant boat has been stranded in the Mediterranean Sea for 30 hours. As authorities ignore calls for help, the Sea-Watch Crew, an NGO, launches an urgent search.