Movies Similar to Los Olvidados

Expanding Sanctuary(2023)

A Latinx immigrant mother makes waves with a historic campaign to end the sharing of the Philadelphia police database with ICE.

Les "Folles de la Place Vendôme"(1985)

A documentary released in 1985 about the Mothers of Place Vendôme.

America Becoming(1991)

Looks at the United States as it becomes an increasingly diverse nation. Tracing the history of significant changes in the Immigration and Nationality Act beginning in 1965, this program introduces a dramatic vision of a multi-cultural America where people of color are the new majority. The feelings and stories of ordinary people are featured in everyday context in six cities across the county. Interviews with residents of Chicago, Houston, Philadelphia, Miami and several other places probe the changing relationships between newcomers and established residents.

Immigration Story: A Video Mosaic(2023)

A short film documenting the immigrant experience. Open-borders? Policing? Naturalizing? Etc.

The Sephardic Jews and the Pike Place Market(2001)

At the turn of the century, Sephardic Jews fled the turmoil of their homeland to start a new life in America. Filled with interviews, archival photos and dozens of Ladino phrases, this slice of Northwest history captures their story as they arrived in Seattle and found work at the Pike Place Market.

El Batería

Cuban drummer Elvis García reflects on his journey from Havana to Miami, struggling to make his way in the American city as a professional musician.

Common Ground(2018)

An internet personality journeys to his hometown on the border between Texas and Mexico to visit family members, only to discover that his family’s immigration story parallels that of people risking everything to immigrate to the U.S. today.

Don't Tell Anyone (No Le Digas A Nadie)(2015)

In a community where silence is seen as necessary for survival, undocumented immigrant activist Angy Rivera joins a generation of Dreamers in a quest to come out of the shadows and claim her place in the only home she's ever known.

Brief Tender Light(2024)

At America's elite MIT, a Ghanaian alum follows four African students as they strive to graduate and become agents of change for their home countries Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Over an intimate, nearly decade-long journey, all must decide how much of America to absorb, how much of Africa to hold on to, and how to reconcile teenage ideals with the truths they discover about the world and themselves.

All American(2024)

In this modern, coming of age documentary, Naomi, Jojo and Arham grapple with economic divides, gender roles, and family dynamics while competing in the fastest growing high school sport in the country: girl’s wrestling.

Fugitive, Where Are You Running to?(2018)

Life for refugees and migrants stuck at Calais: Filmed amidst the camps, the beaches, the sea and the sky, impressions of the lived experiences of these people wavering between despair and hope.

Walk The Line(2024)

More than 37,000 Chinese citizens entered the US illegally via its southern border in 2023, hoping to find a better life in America. Many more are following in their footsteps, often with young children in tow. To reach the Land of the Free, they embark on a most treacherous journey: the migrants first need to reach Ecuador, the country closest to the US that would grant Chinese passport holders visa-free entry. From there, they need to cross Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Honduras, Guatemala and Mexico, all illegally, to reach California. In this documentary series, CNA correspondent Wei Du travels the route with the Chinese migrants, and try to understand why they've been driven to such desperation, and if the American Dream is all it's made out to be.

Separated(2024)

Academy Award®-winning filmmaker Errol Morris confronts one of the darkest chapters in recent American history: family separations. Based on NBC News Political and National Correspondent Jacob Soboroff’s book, Separated: Inside an American Tragedy, Morris merges bombshell interviews with government officials and artful narrative vignettes tracing one migrant family’s plight. Together they show that the cruelty at the heart of this policy was its very purpose. Against this backdrop, audiences can begin to absorb the U.S. government’s role in developing and implementing policies that have kept over 1300 children without confirmed reunifications years later, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

Chez Jolie Coiffure(2019)

Rosine Mbakam is invited to step in Sabine’s small hairdresser’s because it is dangerous in the street. She accepts and pushes in with her camera. Sabine’s stories and the customers’ joys, worries, problems and fears bring depth and life into the premises. At times, it feels like the entire African quarter of Brussels had squeezed in. Laughter abounds, anecdotes and life stories elicit emotions, and a male visitor brings a touch of flirt into the salon.

La Vie sans Brahim(2003)

Kindergarten(2020)

A childhood story is narrated while home movie footage is displayed. The narrator recounts her assimilation experience: moving to America, learning English, giving up your culture and a part of yourself.

Sambal Belacan in San Francisco(1997)

“Sambal Belacan in San Francisco” is a documentary which revolves around three women from Singapore who move to San Francisco in the 1980s to enjoy the lifestyle they wanted.

Who Gets In?(1989)

This documentary explores the many questions raised by Canada's immigration policy in the face of one of the world's largest immigration movements. Shot in 1988 in Africa, Canada and Hong Kong, the film reveals first-hand what Canadian immigration officials are looking for in potential new Canadians, and the economic, social and political priorities orienting their choices.

Gary's Story - Under a Car in Life

Gary's Story is part of a collective filmmaking project that looks at relationships between teenagers and their grandparents in families that have recently immigrated to the US from the former Soviet Union. Gary's family is from Moscow.

Gary's Story - No Second Best

Gary's Story is part of a collective filmmaking project that looks at relationships between teenagers and their grandparents in families that have recently immigrated to the US from the former Soviet Union. Gary's family is from Moscow.