7 pm
August screenings in the Bank of America Free Thursday Film Series conclude Becoming American: A Documentary Film and Discussion Series on our Immigration Experience. This six-week series is a project of City Lore, a cultural center for the arts and humanities based in New York City. It is funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities as part of NEH’s Community Conversations initiative, and features documentary film screenings and scholar-led discussions designed to encourage an informed discussion of immigration issues against the backdrop of our immigration history.
The National Hispanic Cultural Center is one of 24 organizations selected nationwide to participate in the Becoming American project. The scholar/moderator for the screenings and discussions at the Center is Dr. Gabriel Sanchez, Professor of Political Science at the University of New Mexico. The theme for Unit Five, presented on August 9, is “Family and Community.”
Filmed over the course of a year, this documentary follows the family of Sandra and Bautista Ortiz, hardworking immigrants living frugally in a multi-family house in Brooklyn, who dream of retiring to their native Dominican Republic. Their American-born and acculturated daughters have other ideas altogether. The conflict between the first generation’s values — attachment to their homeland, discipline and strong work ethic, clarity of goals and emphasis on family – and the independent outlook of their three girls form the moving and often humorous dramatic spine of the film.
2001; Aaron Matthews; English; 62 minutes; not rated.
Free ticketed event; tickets available one hour before show
