Los Lecheros (2017)

No Packers, No Life

Suh, whose favorite Packer will always be Mason Crosby; Omi and Ayaka, whose infant daughter already sports a green and gold onesie, and Ryuta aka “fatdragon08” who briefly lived in Milwaukee in 1990, studying English, where he was teased for wearing a San Fancisco 49ers jacket, and subsequently converted to the Pack Life. Benzine’s film lets us spend quality time with these super fans, and then follows them as they make plans to cross the sea to see their beloved Packers in-person at Lambeau! As director Benzine says, “No Packers, No Life is a story about a sports team and their fans, but more than that it illustrates how people from all over the world can come together and unite over a common passion. Also, the Japanese fans arrive in Green Bay and get to ride the Zippin Pippin and party a lot. It’s a very good time.”

Visions of Europe

Twenty-five films from twenty-five European countries by twenty-five European directors.

Displaced Perssons

Per Persson left Sweden 40 years ago. In Pakistan he fell in love and became the father of two daughters. Trouble starts when the girls grow up and the family decides to emigrate to Sweden. When they end up living in a caravan outside Hässleholm, all their expectations are dashed.

"An Untitled Film" by George Alshevskij-Jones

“An Untitled Film” by George Alshevskij-Jones is a short documentary/visual essay about the struggles of moving to seek a better future in a different country. The research for the film was done by observing and talking to people who have left their home country. It doesn’t matter what country a person has left and in which country he has found himself, the general experiences and emotions stay the same. The most important message that I want the film to convey is that everything is possible and home is not a place on a map, but a place in the soul of each person that I spoke to. The unconventional way of showing many people as one is not just a way of making the film more convenient to create, but a way to fit a much information into one consistent image, that the audience is more likely to understand and perceive as the author intended it. My own experience blended in with the experiences of others.

Calls from Moscow

A prefabricated estate in Moscow is meant as a transit stop for four queer Cuban exiles – until Russia’s attack on Ukraine radically shifts their outlook. Moving telephone calls back home provide the structure of Luís Alejandro Yero’s debut work.

American Movie

American Movie documents the story of filmmaker Mark Borchardt, his mission, and his dream. Spanning over two years of intense struggle with his film, his family, financial decline, and spiritual crisis, American Movie is a portrayal of ambition, obsession, excess, and one man's quest for the American Dream.

Elsewhere, Everywhere

A computer screen, images from the four corners of the world. We cross borders in one-click while another trip’s story reach us in bits, through text messages, chats, phone conversations, and an immigration office’s questionnaire. It’s the journey of Shahin, a 20-year-old Iranian boy who, fleeing his country alone, lands in Greece, then winds his way to England where he claims asylum.

Alone

Fearing for their lives, Afshin, Alain and Patricia fled their country, without their parents, when they were only children. They had to start all over here in Canada in the hope of a better life. Combining real shooting and animated cinema, "Alone" bears the imprint of hope: how does a child manage to rebuild himself in a new country, when he has left everything behind?

Assimilation Memories

90's era home videos of a Mexican father starting a new life in the United States

The Shelter

It is winter at an emergency shelter for the homeless in Lausanne. Every night at the door of this little-known basement facility the same entry ritual takes place, resulting in confrontations which can sometimes turn violent. Those on duty at the shelter have the difficult task of “triaging the poor”: the women and children first, then the men. Although the total capacity at the shelter is 100, only 50 “chosen ones” will be admitted inside and granted a warm meal and a bed. The others know it will be a long night.

Baggages

This documentary focuses on immigrant teens between the ages of 12 and 17 who share the story of their migration and their adaption to life in Canada through theatre. Young but wise, these children describe their experiences with emotion and authenticity.

Bad River

Wisconsin's tribe's ongoing fight to protect Lake Superior for future generations. "Bad River" shows the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa's long history of activism and resistance in the context of continuing legal battles with Enbridge Energy over its Line 5 oil pipeline. The Line 5 pipeline has been operating on 12 miles of the Bad River Band's land with expired easements for more than a decade. The Band and the Canadian company have been locked in a legal battle over the pipeline since 2019.

Tides of Tradition: The Life of Colonel Kong

Robert Kongaika runs from his family to join the military and becomes the first Tongan US Air Force Colonel. This is the true story of the island traditions, faith, and family that made him into the father he is today.

The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)

Co-directed by acclaimed cinematographer Ellen Kuras and subject Thavisouk Phrasavath, this haunting documentary chronicles a refugee family’s epic journey from Laos in the aftermath of the secret war waged by the United States there to New York, where they find themselves fighting a different kind of war on the streets of Brooklyn. Filmed over the course of 23 years, THE BETRAYAL is a visually and emotionally stunning look at the complex ways in which the political shapes the personal.

Football And Immigration, 100 Years Of Common History

Football is both the place, the crystallization of sporting passion and the witness of identity imaginations. It is also an interesting and relevant area for discussing the migration issue. From the 1930s to the present day, football, notably with the composition of the French team, has reflected the plurality of the French population. Raymond Kopa, Michel Platini, Zinedine Zidane, Basile Boli... these four footballers alone illustrate the four major waves of immigration that France has experienced.

Milked

A young activist goes deep into dairy land where he takes on the giants of New Zealand's most powerful industry, and reveals how the sacred cash-cow industry has been milked dry. His journey exposes not only the sustainability crisis and the dangerous denial of impending agricultural disruption, but also what New Zealand and other countries can do to change their fate.

Wisconsin Death Trip

Inspired by the book of the same name, film-maker James Marsh relays a tale of tragedy, murder and mayhem that erupted behind the respectable facade of Black River Falls, Wisconsin in the 19th century.

Temporary Identity

What does it mean to belong to a place, a country? In a south Tel Aviv elementary school, that question is addressed head-on by a fourth-grade class and their teacher. The children are asylum seekers whose families mostly do not have a legal status in Israel, yet learn, sing and play in Hebrew all the while examining their identity and sense of belonging.

Made in Miami

Made in Miami is the story of Camila's journey from arriving in Miami from Cuba as a kid to finding her voice and releasing her debut album. The film explores how generations of strong women have shaped the Cabello family and inspired Camila to become the artist she is today.

Save Our Souls

Bobbing around on Mediterranean waters aboard the Ocean Viking, aid workers from the French relief service SOS Méditerranée gaze at the horizon. Is that a rubber dinghy in the distance, or is it garbage? The organization sails up and down the Libyan coast looking to pick up refugees in boats. On board is a 30-strong team ready to offer help and support refugees with their asylum applications.

The Lebanese Burger Mafia

The heir to a Burger Baron franchise, the filmmaker chases clues through rural Alberta, capturing the trials and tribulations of Arab immigrants while uncovering the saga of a rogue fast-food chain with mysterious origins and a cult following.

Things We Won't Say About Race That Are True

Trevor Phillips confronts some uncomfortable truths about racial stereotypes, as he asks if attempts to improve equality have led to serious negative consequences.

Walk The Line

More than 37,000 Chinese citizens entered the US illegally via its southern border in 2023, hoping to find a better life in America. Many more are following in their footsteps, often with young children in tow. To reach the Land of the Free, they embark on a most treacherous journey: the migrants first need to reach Ecuador, the country closest to the US that would grant Chinese passport holders visa-free entry. From there, they need to cross Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico, all illegally, to reach California. In this documentary series, CNA correspondent Wei Du travels the route with the Chinese migrants, and try to understand why they've been driven to such desperation, and if the American Dream is all it's made out to be.

Rotzloch

At the end of a quarry, in a godforsaken place called Rotzloch, a new life begins for four young men.

Expanding Sanctuary

A Latinx immigrant mother makes waves with a historic campaign to end the sharing of the Philadelphia police database with ICE.

I'm Leaving Now

After 16 years in Brooklyn, working three low-paying jobs and sending the bulk of his earnings to his wife and children, undocumented immigrant Felipe decides to return home to his family in Mexico. But when he informs them of his plans, he discovers that they've squandered the money, are deeply in debt and don’t want him to return. They need him to stay in the U.S. and continue to earn.

An American in Tangier

Made in the sunset years of Paul Bowles’ life, the film sees the eccentric author and composer reminisce on how he ended up in Morocco.

Handsworth Songs

The Black Audio Film Collective’s acclaimed essay film, 'Handsworth Songs', examines the 1985 race riots in Handsworth and London. Interweaving archival photographs, newsreel clips, and home movie footage, the film is both an exploration of documentary aesthetics and a broad meditation social and cultural oppression through Britain’s intertwined narratives of racism and economic decline.

All American

In this modern, coming of age documentary, Naomi, Jojo and Arham grapple with economic divides, gender roles, and family dynamics while competing in the fastest growing high school sport in the country: girl’s wrestling.

Balakrishna

When an extraordinary new resident – Balakrishna, an Indian elephant – arrived in the town of East River, Nova Scotia, in 1967, no one was more in awe of the creature than young Winton Cook, who became inseparable from his mammoth new friend. Using painterly animation, photographs and home-movie treasures, Balakrishna transmits the wistfulness of childhood memories, while evoking themes of friendship and loss, and issues of immigration and elephant conservation.