The New Americans (TV Miniseries) (2004)

This documentary miniseries follows four years in the lives of a diverse group of contemporary immigrants and refugees as they journey to start new lives in America. The immigrants were filmed both in their countries of origin before immigrating as well as in the United States. The documentary (from the creators of Hoop Dreams and Stevie) illuminates the search for the American Dream through the eyes of today’s immigrants and refugees. We follow an Indian couple to Silicon Valley through the dot-com boom and bust. A Mexican meatpacker struggles to reunite his family in rural Kansas. Two families of Nigerian refugees (including the sister of slain Ogoni activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa) escape government persecution. Two Los Angeles Dodgers prospects follow their big dreams of escaping the barrios of the Dominican Republic. A Palestinian woman who marries into a new life in Chicago only to discover in the wake of September 11, she cannot leave behind the pain of her homeland's conflict. Kartemquin assembled a team of talented directors including the creators of Hoop Dreams, Who Killed Vincent Chin, and Vietnam, Long Time Coming. The detailed portraits that resulted were woven into a seven-hour miniseries that presents a kaleidoscopic picture of immigrant life and a first impression of the U.S. that few born in America can imagine. The series aired originally on PBS. The series won the International Documentary Association's 2004 Best Limited Series Award, and screened at IDFA, SXSW, and Chicago International Film Festival, where it won the Gold Hugo for Best Television Production.