Becoming American Shorts

This series of FREE shorts offers a glimpse at a few of the many pathways to becoming an American in both a legal sense and identity. Subjects include Syrian refugees, undocumented college students, and first-generation identity crisis.

Filmmakers expected to be in attendance.

Go to Where the Light Is
Director: Josh Oldham | 7 mins | USA
Each year, approximately 13,000 North Koreans risk their lives in a desperate attempt to flee the country. This is the story of one survivor, Yeonmi Park, and her escape from North Korea.

Just One Story
Director: Melissa Taylor, Seng Rimpakone |
17 mins | USA
As refugees from Laos, the Rimpakones spent only one year in Portland, Indiana, but that year shaped their futures. That year they became Americans.

It Is What It Is
Director: Cyrus Tabar | 8 mins | USA
Cyrus, a first-generation American of mixed Japanese heritage tries to understand why his father kept him away from his Iranian grandparents. Turning to home movies and photos, he sets in motion a journey into the dark and nebulous corners of his family history.
Searching Skies
Director: Vivian Hua | 9 mins | USA
When a Syrian refugee family is invited to a Christian family’s house for Christmas dinner, they are caught between opposing viewpoints for and against them.

Godspeed
Director: Chiahao Chou | 6 mins | USA
An ambitious delivery boy decides to pursue his dreams at the expense of his financially struggling father.

Lobbying to Learn
Director: Matthew Hashiguchi | 8 mins | USA
In Georgia, undocumented immigrants lobby the state legislature for the right to attend college.