An Open Letter to NYC: Documented
/
Jose Antonio Vargas, 2013, 90 min
In 2011, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas outed himself as an undocumented immigrant in the New York Times Magazine. Documented chronicles his journey to America from the Philippines as a child; his journey through America as an immigration reform activist/provocateur; and his journey inward as he re-connects with his mother, whom he hasn’t seen in 20 years.
Q&A with producer and editor of Documented, Sabrina Schmidt Gordon followed by reception with Haitian food.
Sabrina Schmidt Gordon is a Haitian-American documentary filmmaker with over 17 years experience in all aspects of production, from research and development, to producing, editing and directing. Her editing debut won an Emmy for WGBH’s Greater Boston Arts series, and she has continued to distinguish herself as a producer and editor on numerous award-winning films, TV programs and web series. She is the co-director of BaddDDD Sonia Sanchez,”Winner of Best Documentary Directed by a Woman of Color,” ADIFF.
This program is part of An Open Letter to NYC:
Immigrant Documentary Filmmakers and Their Films
Starting with the periods before, during, between, and after the two world wars through to the present day, the American film industry would not exist without the immigrant filmmaker. In fact all contemporary American art and media, including the current documentary renaissance, is enlivened by and rooted in the modern immigrant experience. An Open Letter takes stock in immigrant, refugee and expatriate documentary filmmakers and/or documentary films about immigration and pays special attention to filmmakers from dominant and emerging NYC populations including those of Caribbean, Eastern European, Latin American, South and East Asian, Middle Eastern and West African descent. Programmed by Jessica Green and Edo Choi.
This series is supported by New York City’s Department of Cultural Affairs (DCLA) as part of the 2016 Immigrant Cultural Initiative.
