THIS IS HOME is an intimate portrait of four Syrian refugee families arriving in America and struggling to find their footing. Displaced from their homes and separated from loved ones, they are given eight months of assistance from the International Rescue Committee to become self-sufficient. As they learn to adapt to challenges, including the newly imposed travel ban, their strength and resilience are tested. After surviving the traumas of war, the families arrive in Baltimore, Maryland and are met with a whole new set of challenges. They attend cultural orientation classes and job training sessions where they must “learn America” – everything from how to take public transportation to negotiating new gender roles. THIS IS HOME goes beyond the statistics, headlines, and political rhetoric to tell deeply personal stories, putting a human face on the global refugee crisis.
Biography:
Alexandra Shiva is an award-winning filmmaker, known for crafting intimate character-driven cinema verite documentaries. Her film, HOW TO DANCE IN OHIO, follows on a group of teenagers and young adults on the autism spectrum preparing for an iconic American rite of passage — a Spring Formal. The Peabody Award winning film premiered at The Sundance Film Festival in 2015 and aired on HBO to great critical acclaim. Alexandra’s second documentary STAGEDOOR follows five kids through a musical theater summer camp program in the Catskills. STAGEDOOR premiered at SXSW in 2005, had its theatrical debut at Film Forum in New York in 2006 and aired on Sundance Channel. After spending extensive time in India, Alexandra launched her documentary career producing and directing BOMBAY EUNUCH, a feature-length documentary that follows a makeshift family of eunuchs as they struggle to survive in modern Bombay. In 2001, the film was awarded Best Documentary at New York’s New Festival and the Special Jury Award at the Florida Film Festival and was released theatrically.
