Immigration Movie Nights
We love hosting Casa de Paz immigration movie nights! Each month we choose a different immigration-related film. You’ll watch the movie on your own at a time that is convenient for you. On the last Thursday of the month, we’ll spend time together virtually and share our thoughts.
Movie Night Details
Monthly on the last Thursday
7pm - 8pm MT
Film discussion via Zoom
Click here to RSVP and receive the Zoom link
We do not want the cost of the film to be a barrier to anyone participating in these important discussions. If you would like to be reimbursed after watching the film, please fill out this form.
Movie Nights Team Leader
The film discussions are led by DU professor Susan Walter. Here's a bit more about her!
"Hi! I’m Susan Walter, and I’ve been a volunteer with Casa de Paz for a little more than a year now. My teenage son Pablo and I often volunteer together. I am also involved with Casa de Paz through a community-engaged course on Immigration in Hispanic film that I am currently teaching at the University of Denver."
October’s Movie: The Kite Runner
The Kite Runner (2007) by Marc Forster, "tells the story of Amir, a well-to-do boy from the Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul who is tormented by the guilt of abandoning his friend Hassan. The story is set against a backdrop of tumultuous events, from the fall of the monarchy in Afghanistan through the Soviet military intervention, the mass exodus of Afghan refugees to Pakistan and the United States, and the Taliban regime."
The film focuses on Afghanistan, and is based on a best-selling novel of the same name. It tells the story of two best friends from different social classes, their fathers, and how immigration, time, and space does not always heal old wounds.
The film can be viewed for free with an Amazon Prime subscription or on Paramount+, and rented on Apple tv, Google play, YouTube and other sites.
Discussion Questions
What did The Kite Runner teach you about friendship? About forgiveness? And About Afghanistan in more general terms?
In your view, who suffers the most in The Kite Runner?
What did you like about Baba? Dislike about him? How was he different in the U.S. than in Afghanistan?
What scenes resonated most with you in the film? Which ones were the most difficult for you to watch? Why?
September’s Movie: El Norte
El Norte: When a group of Mayan Indians decides to organize a labor union to improve conditions in their village, their community is violently destroyed by the Guatemalan army. Teenage siblings, Rosa (Zaide Silvia Gutiérrez) and Enrique (David Villalpando) manage to escape the massacre and decide to start a new life in El Norte -- the USA. The two trek through Mexico, meeting a variety of characters and facing trials and tribulations on their journey toward lives as immigrants in Los Angeles.
The film can be viewed on Apple tv, Vudu, Google play, Amazon Prime, and other outlets.
Click here to RSVP and receive the Zoom link for our discussion time on Sept 30, 7pm MT.
Discussion Questions
What scenes of the film resonated the most with you? And which ones impacted you the most? Why?
What are some of the challenges that Enrique and Rosa face when they first arrive to the US?
Are there aspects of Enrique’s and Rosa’s experiences that you can relate to Casa guests that you have engaged with? Or, perhaps, you can relate some of their experiences to other films you’ve seen or books you’ve read? Explain.
July’s Movie: Which Way Home
Which Way Home by Rebeca Cammisa (2009) is a documentary that follows unaccompanied child migrants as they travel by train through Mexico on their way to the United States.
We follow children like Olga and Freddy, nine-year old Hondurans, who are desperately trying to reach their parents in the US.; children like Jose, a ten-year old El Salvadoran, who has been abandoned by smugglers and ends up alone in a Mexican detention center; and Kevin, a canny, streetwise fourteen-year old Honduran, whose mother hopes that he will reach the U.S. and send money back to her. These are stories of hope and courage, disappointment and sorrow.
The film can be viewed on Hulu, Sling TV, Amazon Prime, Vudu, YouTube, and Tubi.
Click here to RSVP and receive the Zoom link for our discussion time on July 29, 7pm MT.
Discussion Questions
What common themes do you see in the stories that each of the children tell?
Which stories or scenes resonated with you the most?
An older man asks Olga and Freddie-- two, nine year old children-- what they want to be and tells them that they can be anything they want to be. Do you think that that advice is true for the children in this film? Why or why not?
The kids in the movie have beautiful and specific expectations about life in the United States. If you could have a conversation with them about their expectations, what would you say? What do you think they should know about life in America?
June’s Movie: The Visitor
The Visitor is a 2007 American drama film written and directed by Tom McCarthy and produced by Michael London and Mary Jane Skalski.
The screenplay focuses on a lonely man in late middle age whose life changes when a chance encounter with an immigrant couple forces him to face issues relating to identity, immigration, and cross-cultural communication in post-9/11 New York City.
For The Visitor, McCarthy won the 2008 Independent Spirit Award for Best Director, while Richard Jenkins was nominated for Best Actor at the 81st Academy Awards.
The film can be viewed on Google Play, YouTube movies, Amazon, Apple TV, and other sites.
Click here to RSVP and receive the Zoom link for our discussion time on June 24, 7pm MT.
Discussion Questions
What brings Tarek and Walter together? What does Walter seem to gain from his friendship with Tarek? What does the end of the film suggest about how the coming months and years in Walter’s life will be?
Did you find the development of the bond between Walter and Tarek’s mother believable? What seems to bring them together?
What scene in the film impacted you the most?
May’s Movie: The Facility, Thursday, April 20
This month we are mixing it up a bit and partnering with the University of Denver for their screening of The Facility.
Please join the DU Center for Immigration Policy and Research (CIPR) for a virtual screening of The Facility followed by a talkback with the film’s director, immigration experts, and advocates.
We will NOT be using the regular zoom link, but rather will be using the link provided by DU to watch the film together. Please RSVP here.
The Facility: Aurora’s GEO ICE facility is a private immigrant detention center whose shadowy practices are obscured from advocates and lawmakers alike. But through the stories of those fighting to free their loved ones, and those who have done time on the inside, this film will shine a light on a facility too often shrouded in darkness.
April’s Movie, Entre Nos, Thursday, April 29
Entre Nos (Between Us) (2009) by Paola Mendoza and Gloria La Morte. The story of a Colombian mother who is abandoned by her husband shortly after immigrating to Queens, NY with her two young children.
This film is available on Kanopy (a streaming service available through many public libraries), HBO, and Pluto TV (a free streaming service online).
Discussion Questions
The director and screenwriter describe this story as a “coming of age” story of the young mother in the film. What are some key turning points in her story?
How is Mariana’s story made more difficult by the fact that she has recently immigrated to the US?
What scenes from the film impacted or resonated with you the most?
March’s Movie: The Infiltrators
The Infiltrators (2019) directed by Cristina Ibarra and Alex Rivera. This is a docudrama that follows the stories of some Dreamers as they attempt to get immigrants detained in a Florida detention center released. The film combines documentary footage with recreations of the scenes in the detention centers to tell these stories.
Discussion Questions
Consider how the hybrid format of this film works. That is, how do the documentary and dramatic recreations work together to create a coherent story? And how well are the two formats weaved together?
In your opinion, what are the primary themes that the film explores?
Which of the immigrant stories from the film resonated most with you? Or perhaps impacted you the most?
February's Movie: La Juala de Oro
La Jaula de Oro (The Golden Cage) (2013) is the story of 3 Guatemalan teenagers as they journey north to the US.
Discussion Questions
The main characters in the film encounter a number of obstacles along the way, as well as some joys. What moments impacted you the most as you viewed the film?
Discuss the evolution of the character Juan in the film, and also the development of Juan and Chauk’s relationship. What are some key moments in the development of their friendship?
Consider how the film portrays life in the US. What does the film’s message regarding the immigrant experience seem to be? (An interesting related note: “La Jaula de Oro” is also a fairly famous song by the Mexican group Los tigres del norte. Give the song a listen to see how it portrays the immigrant experience.)