Vermont Humanities

The Other Side of Hope: Films About Immigration

A document sits on the pavement and the headline reads IMMIGRATION
Speakers Bureau
A document sits on the pavement and the headline reads IMMIGRATION
Image Credit: Photo by Metin Ozer on Unsplash

Filmmakers have tackled issues of displacement, discrimination, exploitation, and assimilation in movies like Mississippi Masala (about Indians in the Deep South), The Other Side of Hope (Syrians in Finland) and Dirty Pretty Things (West Africans in London.) Film history expert Rick Winston shares clips from fifteen works that address one of the most pressing issues of our times.

Banner image by Metin Ozer on Unsplash

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Questions?

Contact Jacob Pelletier at jpelletier@vermonthumanities.org.

About the Presenter

Talks by Rick Winston

A black and white image of a group of musicians from the 1950s as they play a piece of music.

Classical Scores for Classic Films

By Jacob Pelletier | September 1, 2026

Classical music has been used to enhance many of our favorite films. Join Rick Winston as he explores how music makes these films, and experience clips from these films and others.

Posted in History, Music, Speaker Talk

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Still image from The Jackie Robinson Story film from 1950. Actors Ruby Dee and Joel Fluellen sit center in bleachers as they interact with other characters.

Representations of Racial Issues in Film: 1945-1960

By Jacob Pelletier | September 1, 2026

From “Birth of a Nation” to “Gone With the Wind,” harmful stereotypes of Black life were the rule in Hollywood. After World War II, there was some progress in showing a more realistic picture on the screen, due to the efforts of younger, more progressive Hollywood screenwriters – many of whom wound up on the Hollywood Blacklist.

Posted in Civics, History, Social Science, Speaker Talk

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A document sits on the pavement and the headline reads IMMIGRATION

The Other Side of Hope: Films About Immigration

By Vermont Humanities | November 20, 2024

Filmmakers have tackled issues of displacement, discrimination, exploitation, and assimilation in movies like Mississippi Masala (about Indians in the Deep South), The Other Side of Hope (Syrians in Finland) and Dirty Pretty Things (West Africans in London.) Film history expert Rick Winston shares clips from fifteen works that address one of the most pressing issues of our times.

Posted in Art: History and Appreciation, Speaker Talk, Speakers Bureau

Tags: ,

Read More »
Vermont Humanities*** November 20, 2024

A woman with gray hair wearing a blue shirt reads from a music stand in front of a seated crowd in a state park

Our seasonal “Words in the Woods” program allows Vermonters and visitors to enjoy our state’s natural beauty while listening to and reading literature in the outdoors.

Middle school students in costume on stage during Shakespeare play

Humanities Camps are filled with reading and writing projects, field trips, and outdoor activities.

Rep. John Lewis and Andrew Aydin with students in front of a schoolbus

We won a 2020 Schwartz Prize for best public humanities programming in the U.S. for Vermont Reads 2019: “March: Book One.”

African man in dark pants and shirt leading a group of children in a dance in a school gymnasium

We supported the Chandler Center for the Arts’ Global Connections Youth Outreach program, which highlights artists from around the world.

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Our free public events help bring the power of the humanities to communities across Vermont.