immigrants • rural-urban migration • migrant workers • exiles • discrimination • Palestinian refugees
WORLDWIDE
Refugee Women
Film, 40 min., in English
Distributor: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (USA)
This film looks at the lives of three refugee women. The first is a recent widow in Kampuchea about to give birth to her third child. The film shows her reestablishing her home in a refugee camp and the problems she encounters to get food, water and bamboo. The second woman is, from Chile and has relocated in Sweden. Although she lives in a comfortable home and both she and her husband work, this woman suffers from from extreme feelings of displacement. The third woman lives alone in Somalia with her children. She spends her days working in the fields with women and boys of her community, while her daughter stays at home in the refugee camp and cares for the younger children and the household responsibilities.
AFRICA AND THE MIDDLE EAST
Anou Banou ou les Filles de I'Utopie (France 1983)
(Anou Banou or the Daughters of Utopia)
Film, 16 mm, 80 min., color, in French: also available in German
Made by Edna Politi
Producer: Archange Filmproduktions, Z.D.F.
Distributor: Edna Politi, c/o Centre Audiovisuel Simone de Beauvoir (France); German version available from Basis-Film Verleih (West Germany)
This film is about six Russian and Polish Jewish women who emigrated to Palestine in the 1920s to, as they put it, "build a country while building ourselves." Interviewed some 60 years later, the women discuss what socialism, feminism and Zionism have come to mean for them.
Women Under Siege (USA 1982)
Film, 16 mm, 26 min., color, in English
Made by Elizabeth Fernea and Marilyn Gaunt
Distributor: International Development Education Resources Association (IDERA Films) (Canada)
Rashadiyah is a town six miles north of the Israeli border, in southern Lebanon. Once a peaceful agricultural village, in 1964 it became the setting for a camp housing 14,000 Palestinian refugees. For years they lived under constant harassment and threat of Israeli attack. Women play a crucial role in the Palestinian community, as mothers, teachers, political organizers, farm laborers and fighters. Through actual footage and interviews with the women of Rashadiyah, this film explores the lives of six representative Palestinian women. In June, 1982 the town of Rashadiyah was bombed and attacked by Israeli forces. The camp was reduced to ruins, many of the residents forced to flee again.
ASIA
My Filipina (1984)
Film, 8 mm, color, in English
Made by Action Films for Documentation for Action Groups in Asia
Distributor: Documentation for Action Groups in Asia (USA)
The film is a documentary about Filipina maids in Hong Kong. It attempts to explore the situation of Filipino migrant workers by allowing the maids themselves to talk about their work, lives and the problems they face in an alien society.
AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC
Letters from Poland (Australia 1977)
Film, 16 mm, 30 min., color, in English
Made by Sophia Turkiewicz
Distributor: Sydney Filmmakers Cooperative (Australia)
Sydney, Australia, 1950. Dana, a young Polish refugee, and her baby daughter have arrived as new settlers in Australia and are awaiting the arrival of Tadek, Dana's prospective husband and the father of her child, whom she met in a transition camp in Germany. She strikes up a casual friendship with Frank, a night watchman at the office where she works at night as a cleaner, and waits for news of Tadek's arrival.
EUROPE
Luftwurzeln (West Germany 1982)
(The Uprooting)
Film, 16 mm, 30 min., color, in German
Made by Jutta Bruckner, Hille Sagel, Ulrich Chrobock, Rolf Muller, Flora Konda, Anna Konda
Producer: Production directed by Ulrike Herdin
Distributor: Jutta Bruckner Films (West Germany)
A young girl from East Germany decides to go and live on the other side of the "Iron Curtain." The decision inevitably forces her to make a major break with her past. Meanwhile, life in West Germany turns out to be shallow and filled with malaise, and she seeks refuge in memories of her past. Finally, the girl decides to move to Paris, believing that it is better to live in a completely alien environment than to put up with a falsely familiar one.
Hanggang Kailan? (Italy 1985)
(Until When?)
Slideshow, 25 min., color, in English and Italian
Made by Philippine Documentation Center
Distributor: Kaisahan Ng Mga Manggagawang Pilipino Sa Italya (Kampi) (Italy)
This slideshow depicts the images of Filipino women migrant workers in Italy. Through the testimonies of three Filipina migrants, the slideshow not only shows their frustration and suffering as migrant workers, but also traces their agonies and struggles back in the Philippines.
Lutte des Femmes Immigrees (France)
(Migrant Women in Struggle)
Film, 16 mm, 28 min., color, in French
Producer: Mosaique
Distributor: Centre Audiovisuel Simone de Beauvoir (France)
This film documents the actions and initiatives of migrant women in France.
Des Femmes Immigrees de Genevilliers (France)
(Migrant Women of Genevilliers)
Video, 3/4 in., 27 min., color, in French
Made by AFAIF and Centre Audiovisuel Simone de Beauvoir
Distributor: Centre Audiovisuel Simone de Beauvoir (France)
This video describes the activities of a migrant women's group in the French city of Genevilliers, with special attention to their efforts to put together a radio show.
Grands-Meres de l'Islam (France 1979)
(Grandmothers of Islam)
Film, 16 mm, 45 min., color, in French
Made by Coline Serreau
Producer: Institut National de l'Audiovisuel (INA)
Distributor: INA (France)
Two Algerian women who have emigrated to France talk about their past.
Venues d'Ailleurs (France 1983)
(Come from Abroad)
Film, 16 mm, 30 min., color, in French
Made by Edna Politi
Producer: Cinematheque de l'enseignement
Distributor: Cinematheque de l'enseignement (France)
Women from North Africa and the Maghreb living in France talk about marriage, polygamy, genital mutilation, child-parent relationships, and their lives in the city, describing their efforts for social change.
Golge (1980)
Film, 92 min., color, in Turkish with Dutch subtitles
Director: Sema Poyraz
Producer: 1 DFFB/SFB
Distributor: Cinemien (Netherlands)
This film shows the conflicts faced by the daughter of Turkish migrant workers growing up in West Germany – conflicts between the traditional position of women in Turkey and what she experiences in her surroundings.
With Their Blessing Hands (Netherlands 1976)
Documentary film, 30 min., color, in Dutch subtitles
Made by Farideh Fardjam
Distributor: Fugitive Cinema Holland (Netherlands)
A documentary about Turkish women in the Netherlands, this film shows women who are married and have followed their migrant worker husbands, often after years of separation. Others have come with work contracts and yet others are working illegally. In this film, made with the Turkish Women's Committee in Amsterdam, the women speak about their problems in Dutch society and at work. They show their awareness of their situation and their struggle to change it. This film was produced almost entirely by women.
Travelling Together (Scotland)
Video, PAL, VHS, in English
Made by YWCA Scottish Council
Distributor: YWCA Scottish Council (Scotland)
This video is an introduction to the people of many races and cultures who have come to Scotland in recent years, mainly from the Asian subcontinent. In 1965 concern for the well-being of the ethnic minority women was raised and the YWCA and the Church of Scotland responded to this new need through International Centers. The needs of women and girls as well as the needs of the whole family are recognized. The video gives the background of this work and the challenge and opportunities given to Scots through the presence of people of many cultures.
Mirror, Mirror (England 1980)
Film, 16 mm, 25 min., color, in English
Distributor: The Other Cinema (England)
The film portrays a young woman of Indian origin alone in her flat. It examines the tensions and conflicts that affect even the most highly integrated second generation immigrants.
Black Women: Bring It All Back Home (England 1981)
Video, VHS, 20 min., b/w, in English
Distributor: Concord Films Council (England)
Three Black and three white immigrant women discuss their experiences of immigration from childhood.
The Price of Love (Sweden 1985)
Documentary film, 16 mm, 30 min., color, in Swedish and English
Made by Stina Helmersson
Producer: Anders Birkeland
Distributor: Anders Birkeland (Sweden)
This film tells the true story of Nezgul, a young Turkish immigrant woman worker living in Sweden. Driven to the edge of suicide by a forced marriage, Nezgul finally decides to revolt against her husband, her family, and the oppressive elements of her culture. In this film, a grownup Nezgul tells us her story, and recounts the often frightening and unexpected difficulties she continues to face as a woman immigrant.
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
Retratos de Hideko (Brazil 1981)
Film, 16 mm, 10 min., color, in Portuguese
Made by Olga Futema
Distributor: Cinema Distribucao Independente (Brazil)
A poetic sketch about women of Japanese origin living in Sao Paulo and the changes they undergo from generation to generation. The film starts by describing their struggle to survive and honor their own traditions, and goes on to show how they adapt to city life and integrate themselves into the local culture.
Mulher-Identitade-Urbanismo (Brazil)
(Woman-Identity-Urbanization)
Made by Asociacao de Mulheres de Mato Grosso
Distributor: Asociacao de Mulheres de Mato Grosso (Brazil)
This audiovisual describes the condition of indigenous migrant women in Brazil, victims of an inhumane urban environment.
Mujeres del Planeta (Peru)
(Women of the Planet)
Documentary film, 16 mm, 30 min., color, in Spanish
Distributor: Chasqui (Peru)
This film tells the story of rural migrant women living in the newly settled towns in the periphery of Lima.
La Muchacha Migrante (Argentina)
(The Migrant Girl)
Slideshow, in Spanish
Made by Grupo La Paloma
Distributor: Centre Evangelico de Accion Social
Describes the problems faced by young female migrant workers in Argentina.
Gaijin: Roads to Freedom (Brazil 1980)
Film, 105 min., color
Made by Tizuka Yamasaki
Distributor: Third World Newsreel (USA)
Based on the story of her grandmother, Tizuka Yamasaki created the character Gaijin, a Japanese immigrant to Brazil. During the early 20th century, Japanese peasants, plagued by hunger and starvation, migrated with their families to Brazil in search of work on the coffee plantations. Gaijin is the story of one young woman and her husband who, along with a small group of peasants, signed on for work in Brazil. Through much hardship, personal tragedy, and exploitation, Gaijin survives to start life anew in her adopted homeland.
Going Home (Chile 1984)
(The Return)
Videocassette, NTSC, 28 min., color, in Spanish
Made by Filmocentro
Distributor: Filmocentro (Chile)
Like her mother Violeta, Isabel Parra is a well-known Chilean singer. Following eleven years of exile, the Chilean government granted Isabel permission to visit her native country for a period of forty days, after which she was required to return to France, where she had taken refuge following the 1973 military coup. This video is about Isabel Parra's life as an exile and her feelings during this brief visit home. A number of well-known songs help heighten the video's nostalgic mood.
NORTH AMERICA
Problems of Immigrant Women (1977)
Video, 25 min., in English
Distributor: Cross-Cultural Communication Center (Canada)
Himani Bannerji of Canada's East Indian community and Gloria Montero of the Spanish-speaking community discuss immigration patterns, family structures, education, adjustment, discrimination, language and class problems.
Somewhere Between (Canada 1982)
Film, 16 mm, 50 min., color, in English
Made by HY Perspectives
Distributor: Canadian Filmmakers Distribution Centre (Canada)
The controversy over laws that discriminate against Indian women migrants in Canada is brought to light thanks to the accounts of five Indian women living in British Columbia. This film reveals the kind of alienation these women experience as they are forced to abandon their communities due to changes in the laws governing their status as Indian migrants.
Yudie (USA 1974)
Film, 16 mm, 20 min., b/w, in English
Made by Mirra Bank
Distributor: New Day Films (USA)
A documentary about the filmmaker's New York aunt and her life as an immigrant to America from the "old country." She underscores the deep sense of neighborliness that existed in those early days and talks about the family business, early labor organizing and life as an independent Jewish girl who broke some of the expected codes.
We Women Workers (Canada 1979)
Slideshow, 20 min., color, in English
Made by Working Women's Center
Distributor: Working Women's Center (Canada)
Three immigrant women from different backgrounds tell their stories and the problems in the work world. The show points out that, regardless of ethnic background, immigrant women face the same problems. The importance of learning English, of unionization and of community agencies is emphasized.
So Far from India (USA 1982)
Film, 60 min., color, in English
Made by Mira Nair
Distributor: Third World Newsreel (USA)
Mira Nair's film is a moving portrait of Ashok, a recent immmigrant from India to the United States, focusing on his struggle to maintain his identity and his Americanization. It also centers on the life of Hansa, the wife Ashok leaved behind in the small village of Ahmedabad. The film explores Hansa's role within the family hierarchy, her displacement in her husband's home, her undaunted faith in her husband and her expectations of the life that awaits her in America.
Mitsuye and Nellie: Asian-American Poets (USA)
Documentary film, 16 mm, 58 min., color, in English
Made by Allie Light and Irving Saraf
Distributor: Light-Saraf Films (USA)
This is a film about tenderness and anger between mothers and daughters, generational conflicts, and the breaking of stereotyped images of Asian-American women. The poetry, ideas and memories of Mitsuyo Yamada, Japanese-American, and Nellie Wong, Chinese-American, are juxtaposed with rare newsreels and photos of seldom-glimpsed areas of US history. The film creates a moving and challenging double portrait of two women in a society contemptuous and suspicious of Asians. In this film, poetry does more than comment on history - it presents the historical facts blindingly and without compromise.
China, Land of My Father
Film, 16 mm, 28 min., color, in English
Made by Felicia Lowe
Distributor: New Day Films (USA)
U.S. born journalist Felicia Lowe's search for the roots of her father's family has resulted in a warm, insightful portrait of mainland China from a rare first-person perspective. On her journey, Lowe encounters a contemporary – a working mother – and probes her feelings about her priorities in life. The climax of the trip is a moving family reunion in which Lowe meets relatives and her 85-year old grandmother for the first (and probably last) time.
One of Many: Dr. Nhan
Film, 16 min., in English
Distributor: Lucerne Films (USA)
This film portrait shows a refugee woman, Chinese by birth, Vietnamese by marriage, a doctor and acupuncturist of skill and experience, who left Saigon as a "boat person" and immigrated to Canada in 1979. The film describes Dr. Nhan's career before her arrival in Canada and documents her efforts to overcome obstacles that prevent her from practicing her profession.
Children of Labor (USA)
Documentary film, 16 mm, 55 min., b/w, in English
Made by Richard Broadman, Noel Buckner, Mary Dore, Al Gedicks
Distributor: C.D. Film Workshop or CALA Productions (USA)
Children of Labor is the story of how Finnish immigrants came into contact and conflict with industrial America. Told through the words of successive generations of Finnish-Americans, the film recounts how they were able to cope with the brutal realities of turn-of-the-century capitalism by creating their own institutions - churches, temperance halls, socialist halls and cooperatives - to affirm deeply held values. Although the film focuses on the people in this one community, their early radicalism and the many challenges to their cultural and political identity through the years, it deals with questions that reverberate in the lives of most Americans, especially the sons and daughters of immigrants.
SEE ALSO
Other resources that address the themes of this chapter are listed below. The chapters where they may be found are given in boldface type.
ASIA
Women in Struggle
Winning and Surviving: Women of the Philippines (Philippines)
AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC
Our Work
Factory Friday
They Treat Us Like Slaves
EUROPE
On the Margins/Prostitution
Taking a Part (England)
LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
Against Apartheid and Racism
Peucalla Peni (Chile)
Our Work
Mujer, Trabajo y Produccion (Bolivia)
NORTH AMERICA
Images of Women
Heroes (Canada)
