For the first time in Staten Island, New York Women in Film & Television (NYWIFT) presents the Women Filmmakers: Immigrant Stories Screening Series — a free screening series of work by women filmmakers focusing on the immigrant experience throughout the five boroughs of New York City. Filmmakers will be available for a Q&A and refreshments will be available after the screening.
Small Truths – 20 mins, directed by Sarah Yuster and Michael McWeeney
Small Truths portrays an integral facet of immigration via the unique perspectives of young children. Arcing from upbeat and funny to moments startling and sobering, we take an intimate look at lives of NYC schoolchildren in an area that’s predominantly Mexican and Central American. Second graders in a Staten Island public school are filmed as they present written and illustrated pieces based on their experiences.
Sarah Yuster is a documentary filmmaker focusing on social progress themes such as immigration reform and environmental stewardship. Yuster earned her fine arts degree at SVA, attended the Greek Language Center for five years and the Italian Cultural Institute for two years of language study.
Refugee Kids: One Small School Takes on the World – 40 mins, directed by Renee Silverman and Peter Miller
Refugee Kids: One Small School Takes On the World is a short documentary that follows students at a New York City summer program for children seeking asylum from the world’s most volatile conflicts. The film presents an intimate, emotionally gripping account of the students’ stories of escaping war and conflict and resettling in America, chronicling their triumphs and setbacks as their lives unfold over the course of one formative summer. Refugee Kids humanizes complex geopolitics and depict the challenges and urgency of immigration to America in an increasingly dangerous – and interconnected – world.
Renée Silverman is an award-winning filmmaker who has also collaborated with filmmaking partner, Peter Miller, on Sosua: Make a Better World which was broadcast on dozens of PBS affiliates across America.
Renee is a news and documentary producer whose work has been distributed theatrically and broadcast on the major networks including PBS, ARD and ZDF German Public Television Networks, the BBC, Channel Four, UK and NHK among others where she has produced hundreds of reports including an award winning 3-part feature series on global warming in Alaska for German NOVA. She has also covered countless breaking news stories from 9/11 to Eric Garner. Having started her career as an assistant to feature film director, Jerry Schatzberg, she has also written, produced and directed two award winning short dramatic films, Other Islands and Deep Water.
Date: Saturday, June 30, 2018
Time: 1 – 3 PM
Venue: HH Biddle House
70 Satterlee Street
Staten Island, NY 10307
FREE
A Special Thanks to City Council Member Joe Borelli
for support of the Cultural Immigrant Initiative.
HH Biddle House
70 Satterlee Street
Staten Island, NY 10307
Free Admission
, NY 10307
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NYWIFT programs, screenings and events are supported, in part, by grants from New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, and New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature.
