Define American Film Festival in Iowa
For film, immigration, and political junkies, this film festival is for you. It kicked off on Thursday in Des Moines, Iowa.
The Define American Film Festival focuses on the issue of immigration and will screen immigration-related films ahead of the Iowa Caucuses. The festival will show six feature-length films. The films all explore different immigrant experiences.
The festival also brought Oscar nominees to Iowa, including:
Christopher Weitz is currently writing the upcoming film “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.” He’s best known for his work on the film “About a Boy,” which he co-directed and was nominated for an Oscar.
Demián Bichir is a Mexican actor who is best known in the United States for his role in the FX drama “The Bridge.” He was most recently in Quentin Tarantino‘s “The Hateful Eight” and was nominated for an Academy Award for best actor for the 2011 film “A Better Life.”
The festival was organized by Jose Antonio Vargas, a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist, filmmaker and the founder of Define American, a non-profit organization that seeks to elevate the conversation around immigration and citizenship in America.
Ahead of Iowa’s Feb. 1st Caucuses, the Define American Film Festival will provide voters and the media with diverse perspectives about immigration and American identity.
The six feature-length narrative and documentary films to be shown at the festival are:
A Better Life (2011)
The Joy Luck Club (1993)
Mother of George (2013)
Don’t Tell Anyone (2015)
The Muslims are Coming! (2013)
Documented (2013)
KJ