New York – The Migrant Center of New York, Inc. presented its 6th Indie & Foreign Film Festival at San Damiano Hall, 135 W. 31st Street in NYC on October 17-19, 2019.
The Festival showcased exceptional dramatic and documentary films that expand the perspectives on migration – showing a range of immigration issues, experiences, and mediations as created by independent filmmakers from throughout the United States.
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| Father Joseph Nangle, OFP. (Photo by Lambert Parong) |
At the Festival’s October 17 Opening Night, Father David Convertino, OFM Board President of The Migrant Center of New York welcomed everyone and introduced the festival's guest speaker Father Joseph Nangle, OFP who spoke about Detention Center Protests.
Father Julian Jagudilla, OFM, Executive Director of The Migrant Center of New York, Inc. & Founder of Indie & Foreign Film Festival thanked everyone who came, including students from Boston College High School he also acknowledged the various community sponsors for this year and officially launched the website of The Migrant Center of New York, Inc. at www.migrantcenterofnyinc.org
Fr. Jagudilla encouraged everyone to subscribe to the site, stay connected and learn more about their advocacy of empowering the migrant community.
The Festival's opening night film was Tim Tsai’s award-winning feature documentary Seadrift , it was preceded by five short films that provide eye witness accounts of detentions, deportations, and immigrants’ struggle to build lives in America.
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| Filmmaker Linda Freedman. (Photo by Lambert Parong) |
Filmmaker Linda Freedman was in attendance, she directed the short film 'UNACCOMPANIED: Alone in America' that played and it shows what happens when young children appear at immigration proceedings without a lawyer. Ms. Freedman shared her experience about making the short film.
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| Ms. Freedman shared her experience about making the short film. (Photo by Lambert Parong) |
Father Julian Jagudilla, OFM, Executive Director of The Migrant Center of New York, Inc. & Founder of Indie & Foreign Film Festival in a statement said “ As a powerful media, film captures life’s realities; joys, sorrows, pains, struggles and triumphs. Film captures life’s realities, frames them & presents them to an audience not only for entertainment but as a way to reflect and to ask salient questions. This year’s film festival (as was in the past) presents a controversial issue: immigration. Thru this film festival, we would like to take that this reality, this "conscience call" issue and engage an audience to reflect and take action”.
The Migrant Center of New York, Inc. 135 West 31st St, New York City, 212-736-8500 x377. Inspired by the Franciscan tradition of ministering to people who are alienated, displaced or persecuted - the "pilgrims and strangers" in our midst - The Migrant Center welcomes immigrants/ migrants of various ethnic backgrounds regardless of political or religious affiliation. The Center provides legal assistance to immigrants including Adjustment of Status, Asylum applications, Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), Employment authorization, Employment-based immigrant and non-immigrant petitions, Family-based petitions, Naturalization/ Citizenship, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status, T visas, U visas, Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) petitions. Staff members are fluent in English, Filipino, French, Haitian Creole, and Spanish.
Photos by Lambert Parong © 2019 Kababayan Media
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