Where the grass is greener

On the other side. Or so we always think. Chasing dreams a documentary film festival starting Thursday shows how immigration is not all hunky dory

Where the grass is greener

On the other side. Or so we always think. Chasing dreams a documentary film festival starting Thursday shows how immigration is not all hunky dory

It isu00a0a phenomenon which has been taking place since time immemorial. Since the onset of human civilization, migration has been a part of man's life -- in search of greener pastures and his constant quest for a better life. The Great American Dream has been the modern man's quest.u00a0

Every year, lakhs of people from all over the globe immigrate to the United States. However, while all of them go there in search of a better life, it is not all hunky dory after all. There are innumerable problems that they face.

In search of dreams
This is what Chasing Dreams -- a documentary film festival which starts on Thursday -- is focusing on. The film fest, organised by American Centre and Cine Darbaar, will screen three films -- Which way Home, Racing Dreams and No Subtitles Necessary. It also has a separate section for children which will screen two short films -- The First Kid to Learn English from Mexico and Notes on Liberty. "We have chosen youth-oriented films which deal with issues like immigration and dreams pertaining to the United States," says Supriya Suri, Artistic Director, Cine Darbaar. "Immigration is the core area. We also tried to focus on the cultural
transition and how people try to adapt to it," adds Suri.So what was the need for this
documentary film fest? Says Suri: "Though we have done a lot of film festivals before, we have never showcased documentaries. So we wanted to see the response -- whether people in Delhi understand documentaries."

Homeward bound
Sealing borders have always been a futile exercise. Which is exactly why, in spite of all restrictions, people still continue to immigrate despite the hardness. Which Way Home, an Academy Award nominee for Best Feature Documentary, deals with the personal side of immigration through the eyes of children who face harrowing dangers with courage and resourcefulness as they make their way to the United States.

Every year, thousands of Latin Americans travel hundreds of miles to reach the US, sometimes on top of freight trains, and roughly five per cent of those travelling alone are children. The film follows several unaccompanied child migrants as they journey through Mexico to the US on a freight train they call 'The Beast'.

Routes of escape
No Subtitles Necessary follows the lives of renowned cinematographers Laszlo Kovacs and Vilmos Zsigmond who escaped the 1956 Soviet invasion of Hungary to present day. As film students in Hungary, they shot footage of the Russian invasion of Budapest and subsequently volunteered to smuggle it out of the country. Barely escaping with their lives, they fled to America and settled in Hollywood, eventually saving enough money to buy their own 16mm camera to begin shooting movies.

More goodies in the bag
Racing Dreams takes a look at three kids who dream of becoming a part of NASCAR. It has bagged the Winner Audience Award at Indianapolis Film Festival.

Apart from films, there will be interactive sessions with officers from the US consulate narrating immigration stories. Students can also take part in a special workshop on documentary filmmaking.
Sounds like fun.

On: april 28-30
At: american centre, 24, kasturba gandhi marg
for passes, Call: 2347 2232