Digital Commons Network^™

American Lotto, Kris Parker

Capstones

The Preka family won the diversity visa lottery and has immigrated to the seaside town of New London, Connecticut. They are a family of four that have dreamed of immigrating to the United States for much of their lives. Originally from Albania, a country with limited opportunities and riddled with corruption, the film will follow them in Connecticut as they adjust to life in the US and the challenges of learning a new language, finding decent work, and adjusting to a new culture. The film explores their emotional journey; their hopes, expectations, and disappointments, as they build a life without …

Under The Skin, Silvana Silveira

Theses and Dissertations

Under the Skin is an animation depicting the struggles of Laila, a fictional ten-year-old Salvadoran girl child who risks her life crossing the desert to realize her dream of finding a better life in America.

Through Laila's experiences inside the American Immigration system, Under the Skin focuses on the vicissitudes and emotions that unaccompanied migrant children (UMC) arriving in the US across the US-Mexico border encounter.

By combining 2D animation and soundscapes with hand-made textures and paintings, this art film puts a human face to the ongoing immigration crisis. The organic, almost tactile universes created by these textures enhance the …

Maternidad, Denise Cervantes

Capstones

It was a hot summer day in 1985 when my mother, Ada Reyes, left El Salvador and crossed the border into the United States. Behind her, she left her one-year-old son and a war-stricken country. I sat down with her and she told me the story of how she built a life in the United States and raised my brother and me alone as a single mother.

Link: https://denisecervantes.com/capstone

Ya Me Voy (I’M Leaving Now), Lindsey Cordero Camp

Theses and Dissertations

Ya Me Voy (I’m Leaving Now) is 54-minute documentary about Felipe, an undocumented Mexican living in Brooklyn who struggles over whether to return home to Mexico. Felipe plans to reunite with his family in Mexico and reconnect with his youngest son, César, who was just 8 months old when Felipe left. When he discovers his oldest son has a serious debt with the bank, however, he is forced to postpone his return in order to help his son pay off the debt. Felipe feels lonely, disappointed and betrayed by his family until one day an unexpected love affair makes him …