Brave New Voices: Part 1
CLIENT: City of GreshamPROJECT:
A teenage, hijab-wearing tennis player from Somalia, a mother from Samoa and a Russian grandmother running a community center for the elderly. Presenting three different voices who have one thing in common: they all came to this country as immigrants. Brave New Voices is an Emmy-nominated, two-part series exploring the unique stories of immigrant women who have settled in the Gresham area in Oregon. This video was an original MetroEast production made with assistance from the City of Gresham Arts and Cultural Assistance Grant.
APPROACH:
Our challenge with this short documentary was to tie three unrelated women’s stories together in an effort to explore different perspectives about life in America and the universal truths about the immigrant experience. Using a two camera set up in our studio for the interviews, we were able to create an aesthetic that spanned across all the subjects as we intercut between their stories. Our mobile crew was able to achieve an air of intimacy, as we shot in various locations which resulted in a candid portrayal of our subjects.
RESULTS:
This video achieved our first Emmy nomination and was screened at local film festivals. We hope our video has inspired compassion and an open dialogue within our community about belonging, cultural exchange and the immigrant experience.