The New Americans follows four years in the lives of a diverse group of contemporary immigrants and refugees as they journey to start new lives in America. We follow an Indian couple to Silicon Valley through the dot-com boom and bust. A Mexican meatpacker struggles to reunite his family in rural Kansas. Two families of Nigerian refugees (including the sister of slain Ogoni activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa) escape government persecution. Two Los Angeles Dodgers prospects follow their big dreams of escaping the barrios of the Dominican Republic. A Palestinian woman who marries into a new life in Chicago only to discover in the wake of September 11, she cannot leave behind the pain of her homeland's conflict.
Kartemquin assembled a team of talented directors including the creators of Hoop Dreams, Who Killed Vincent Chin, and Vietnam, Long Time Coming. The detailed portraits that resulted were woven into a seven-hour miniseries that presents a kaleidoscopic picture of immigrant life and a first impression of the U.S. that few born in America can imagine.
411 minutes
Just three more days to New Americans
July 1, 2009
Kartemquin's Gordon Quinn was recently profiled on "Beyond the Box," the blog of the Independent Television Service (ITVS). The write-up focuses on Gordon's work with The New Americans and its encore broadcast, which starts on the Global Voices series on PBS this Sunday and airs in hour-long episodes through 8/16. The New Americans DVD was also recently reviewed on the DVD Talk website.
- Executive Producers
- Steve James
- Gordon Quinn
- Series Producer
- Gita Saedi
- Dominican Story Directors/Producers
- Susana Aiken
- Carlos Aparicio
"As each character invents a life against obstacles significantly unlike those faced by Europeans coming to America, viewers must drop their sentimental conceptions of immigration and submit to the new ideas and images that are so judiciously and artfully rendered here."
—Virginia Hefferman, The New York Times
PBS Independent Lens Series, 2004
2004 IDA Limited Series Award
Council on Foundations Film Festival, 2005-2006
The 40th Chicago International Television Competition–Gold Hugo, Best Television Production, 2004