Tales from Arab Detroit

Diaspora: Arirang Road

December 2019 •Korean

During the Japanese occupation period, Koreans were forced to deport or drafted to work in other countries. Now 150 years passed, it appears around 7million of those people and their families are spread in 170 countries. There, a world-famous Korean-Japanese musician Yang Bang Ean follows the pathways of Korean diasporas as an inspiration, and performs his cross over music concert called ‘ARIRANG ROAD’.

Paul Tomkowicz: Street Railway Switchman

January 1953 •English

In this film, Paul Tomkowicz, Polish-born Canadian, talks about his job and his life in Canada. He compares his new life in the city of Winnipeg to the life he knew in Poland, marvelling at the freedom Canadians enjoy. In winter the rail-switches on streetcar tracks in Winnipeg froze and jammed with freezing mud and snow. Keeping them clean, whatever the weather, was the job of the switchman.

Razões Africanas

October 2023 •Portuguese

"Some Kind of Funny Porto Rican?": A Cape Verdean American Story

January 2006 •English

The untold tragedy and scandal of what happened to a vibrant community of immigrants from the Cape Verde Islands in the Fox Point section of Providence, Rhode Island who were forcibly displaced by urban renewal to make way for fancy coffee shops, antique stores and elegantly restored houses. Poignant, heartfelt and warm, in a timeless snapshot SKFPR captures the essence, spirit and heart of a community whose history was erased before it was written.

The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey

January 2003 •English

Many geneticists and archaeologists have long surmised that human life began in Africa. Dr. Spencer Wells, one of a group of scientists studying the origin of human life, offers evidence and theories to support such a thesis in this PBS special. He claims that Africa was populated by only a few thousand people that some deserted their homeland in a conquest that has resulted in global domination.

God Grew Tired of Us

December 2006 •English

Filmmaker Christopher Quinn observes the ordeal of three Sudanese refugees -- Jon Bul Dau, Daniel Abul Pach and Panther Bior -- as they try to come to terms with the horrors they experienced in their homeland, while adjusting to their new lives in the United States.

The Other Side of the Wall

March 2017 •Spanish

Honduran immigrants living in Mexico, teenage siblings Rocío and Ale must take over care of their two younger siblings after their mother is sentenced to prison on dubious grounds. Tensions grow between the pair as the decision must be made on whether to stay together in Mexico or split the family up to cross into the US to work.

Voices From The New Jungle

Invalid date •English

Documentary Film maker, Mark Brown, attempts to discover the damaging effect the over-spilling immigrant population has on the coastal city of Calais, France.

Spellbound

March 2002 •English

This documentary follows 8 teens and pre-teens as they work their way toward the finals of the Scripps Howard national spelling bee championship in Washington D.C.

Blood and Water

September 2007 •English

When the 2004 tsunami hit the coast of Sri Lanka, 65-year-old Anton Ambrose's wife and daughter were killed. "In five minutes," he says, "I lost everything." A year later, Anton returns to Sri Lanka. With him is his nephew, award-winning filmmaker Rohan Fernando. A Tamil, Anton moved to California in the 1970s and became a very successful gynecologist. His daughter, Orlantha, made the opposite journey, returning to Sri Lanka where she ran a non-profit group that gave underprivileged children free violin lessons. Blood and Water is the story of one man's search for meaning in the face of overwhelming loss, but it is also filled with improbable characters, unintentional comedy and situational ironies.

Ôrí

May 1989 •Portuguese

A look at the Brazilian black movement between 1977 and 1988, going by the relationship between Brazil and Africa.

Cuban Rafters

April 2002 •Spanish

The story of Cuban refugees who risked their lives in homemade rafts to reach the United States, and what life is like for those who succeed.

Displaced Perssons

August 2013 •Swedish

Per Persson left Sweden 40 years ago. In Pakistan he fell in love and became the father of two daughters. Trouble starts when the girls grow up and the family decides to emigrate to Sweden. When they end up living in a caravan outside Hässleholm, all their expectations are dashed.

Shelter

June 2021 •English

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

En Rang Par Deux

July 2020 •Italian

The idea for this film comes from the encounter with two African boys who live in Rome, and is based on their music. Tunisian Afif and Senegalese Aliou tell their different stories, talk about friendship, immigration, freedom and, above all, about the fundamental value of making music together.

Mama Rosa

August 2019 •Croatian

Rosa is from Croatia and lives in Switzerland, with her husband who depends on her care. She takes care of everything. Her children have grown up and want to leave home. Rosa stays behind alone.

Aan ons den arbeid

November 2007 •English

Documentary that shows the changing attitude towards immigrant labor in The Netherlands. The documentary follows three immigrants that arrived in Holland 30 years ago to work in a bakery.

Arada

May 2021 •German

The story of three Turkish men. They all grew up in Switzerland and all got deported after various criminal offenses.

Return Home

May 1992 •English

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.

The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)

November 2008 •English

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.