Authentic and truthful minority representation in media and film is difficult to come by, but the Roxbury Film Festival has promised to do just that. The line up in this year’s festival celebrates the diverse untold stories of different minorities, with films that focus on immigration and poverty.
Celebrating its 24th year in action, the Roxbury Film Festival boasts a startling line-up, the kick-off feature being Remember Me: The Mahalia Jackson Story. From influential Gospel singers during the Civil Rights Movement to films that celebrate ancestry, to those that tell the tales of the lives of immigrants, different voices are being heard. The festival began on June 23rd, its Director, Lisa Simmons excited about the progress over the years. “Every year is different, but more local filmmakers are part of the festival and there are more, and untold stories being brought forward.”
With subjects like Civil Rights and immigration being topics that are still relevant today, Simmons describes the impact and intention of these films. “They [Filmmakers] are making films now not just necessarily for entertainment purposes but making them because they want to tell a story. Because they feel like it’s really important that people understand a certain topic…They are using media and using film to make a difference.”
And it isn’t just about the films themselves. The Roxbury Film Festival looks out for the filmmakers, seeking diversity not only in color but supporting female filmmakers as well. They celebrate both emerging and established filmmakers, breaking away from the misrepresentation or lack thereof in mainstream media. “That’s the beauty of the festival.” Simmons continues, “We pride ourselves on being a filmmaker’s festival. We celebrate the filmmakers who are celebrating these stories. It’s not about being a celebrity because everyone gets equal love and support. They all have equal value in telling an unknown story about bringing a voice to the voiceless, about championing a cause, a situation. You will be impacted and moved because they are created to do just that.”
Emotion. Movement. These are the words that describe these films that are meant to stir hearts and inspire action. Anike Tourse, writer and director of America’s Family, also showcased in the festival, explained the impact of film. “it’s a way for people to connect with the characters emotionally. There is a profound connection that can happen with documentary as well. You’re not really thinking about what your political beliefs are. You are really just relating to character and to the storytelling.” Already winning the Grandy Jury and Audience Awards at the Dances with Films Festival, America’s Family follows the Diaz family in a time of severe struggle and separation. After two ICE officers get into the home, the mother, Marisol, played by Tourse, is arrested and detained, the son, Koke, is deported to Mexico, with little knowledge and little command over the Spanish language, and the father, Jorge, seeks refuge in a synagogue for protective sanctuary. Meanwhile, the two American born children left behind are young attorney, Emiliano, and his sister Valentina, who struggles with epilepsy. While in the states, they fight to reunite their family in different ways while the rest fight to get home.
An emotional story that exposes very real fears that immigrants face, Director Simmons comments on its importance. “I think it’s great and I think it’s an important story. We forget that undocumented people live in fear everyday around the world and in this country. Your life is forever changed in a moment. You know for family’s like that you’re constantly contributing to a society, you’re paying taxes more than likely and yet you’re still living in fear every day that all it takes is one shift of political action, a shift in people who are now running the country or running a particular state, of sending you back to somewhere you know nothing about because you have never been there. I think it’s an important story because it raises that issue and gives that sense of urgency…”
That sense of urgency is deepened with the separation of a family. Immigrants make up a large portion of the U.S. and Tourse’s description of this depicts a different type of American family, but an American family nonetheless. The Pew Research center recorded that immigrants account for 13.7% of the U.S. population today. “If you’re born in Mexico but come the United States when you’re a little baby and then you get deported back to Mexico and you don’t have any of your paperwork, you’re going to have to prove that you’re a Mexican national in order to get work.” Tourse comments. “If you can’t then you’re going to be undocumented in two places, which makes it very difficult to work for any reasonable amount of money you could.”
Immigrants have little to no rights when it comes to deportation or having a voice in the matter. Most cannot even vote to stop deportation. Tourse explained that they offer ways to their audience to change this. She encourages them to talk to representatives and senators, join movements and marches that inspire real change. Though the reason she does this through film ties back into emotion.
“People just don’t make a decision to make change because it is a logical thing to do.” She explains. “If it was, we would all just be these phenomenal people that did the right thing all the time. In my experience, people make change because it’s an emotional experience.” The festival included more on immigrants and their struggles, Hostile covering European immigration. As much as immigration is underrepresented, so are Asian immigrants and their poverty level in the United States. Misrepresentation and underrepresentation affects them as well as skewed or incomplete statistics. In reality, New York sees one in four Asians in poverty, 50 percent have limited English and, in general, 70 percent are immigrants. Boston alone sees a poverty rate of 26.6 percent. They account for one of the largest populations of immigrants aside from Hispanics and a few others. It is the hope of people like Lisa Simmons and Anike Tourse that festivals and films can not only bring representation, but spark change and action through emotional connection.
