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FILM LIBRARY: REFUGEES

Rain in a Dry Land
by Anne Makepeace

How do you measure the distance from an African village to an American city? What does it mean to be a refugee in today's "global village?" "Rain in a Dry Land" provides eye-opening answers as it chronicles the fortunes of two Somali Bantu families, transported by relief agencies from years of civil war and refugee life to Atlanta and Springfield, Massachusetts. As the newcomers confront racism, poverty and 21st-century culture shock, the filmmaker Anne Makepeace (P.O.V.'s "Baby, It's You") captures their efforts to survive in America and create a safe haven for their war-torn families. Their poetry, humor and amazing resilience show us our own world through new eyes. A co-production with the Independent Television Service (ITVS).

Work with this film:
Borrow a DVD & Host a Screening | Visit P.O.V. Film Website

Downloadable materials:
Discussion Guide | Further Reading List | Lesson Plan

Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars
by Zach Niles and Banker White

If the refugee is today's tragic icon of a war-ravaged world, then Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars, a reggae-inflected band born in the camps of West Africa, represents a real-life story of survival and hope. The six-member Refugee All Stars came together in Guinea after civil war forced them from their native Sierra Leone. Traumatized by physical injuries and the brutal loss of family and community, they fight back with the only means they have — music. The result, as shown in "Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars," is a tableau of tragedy transformed by the band's inspiring determination to sing and be heard. A Diverse Voices Project co-production.

Work with this film:
Borrow a DVD & Host a Screening | Visit P.O.V. Film Website

Downloadable materials:
Discussion Guide | Further Reading List | Lesson Plan

The Flute Player
by Jocelyn Glatzer

Arn Chorn-Pond was only a boy when the brutal Khmer Rouge regime overran Cambodia and turned his country into a ghastly land of "killing fields." While most of Arn's family, and 90% of the country's musicians, were killed, Arn was kept alive to play propaganda songs on the flute for his captors. Now, after living in the U.S. for 20 years, "The Flute Player" follows Arn's journey back to Cambodia as he seeks out surviving "master musicians" and faces the dark shadows of his war-torn past. An extraordinary story of survival, the film is a testament to one man's ability to transcend tragedy. An Independent Television Service (ITVS) and a National Asian American Telecommunications Association (NAATA) co-presentation.

This film is not currently available in our free lending library.

Work with this film:
Buy the Film | Visit P.O.V. Film Website

Downloadable materials:
Discussion Guide | Further Reading List | Lesson Plan

Lost Boys of Sudan
by Megan Mylan and Jon Shenk

For the last 20 years, civil war has raged in Sudan, killing and displacing millions. "Lost Boys of Sudan" follows two young refugees from the Dinka tribe, Peter and Santino, through their first year in America. Along with 20,000 other boys, they lost their families and wandered hundreds of miles across the desert seeking safety. After a decade in a Kenyan refugee camp, nearly 4,000 "lost boys" have come to the U.S. As Peter and Santino set out to make new lives for themselves in Houston, their struggle asks us to rethink what it means to be an American. An Independent Television Service (ITVS) co-presentation.

This film is not currently available in our free lending library.

Work with this film:
Buy the Film | Visit P.O.V. Film Website

Downloadable materials:
Discussion Guide | Further Reading List | Lesson Plan

Well-Founded Fear
by Shari Robertson and Michael Camerini

Imagine that your life has fallen apart — maybe you've been tortured or raped, or maybe you've gotten out just in time. You'll have one chance to start a new life in the U.S., and an hour to tell your story to a neutral bureaucrat. Now imagine yourself on the other side of the desk, listening to people seeking refuge from any one of a hundred countries. The law says you can offer asylum if you find that someone has a well-founded fear of persecution. Three times a day, your job is to decide their fates. Political asylum — who deserves it? Who gets it? With unprecedented access, filmmakers Michael Camerini and Shari Robertson enter the closed corridors of the INS to reveal the dramatic real-life stage where human rights and American ideals collide with the nearly impossible task of trying to know the truth.

This film is not currently available in our free lending library.

Work with this film:
Buy the Film | Visit P.O.V. Film Website

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