Finnish American Lives
Jan 01, 1982 | IMDB 0
47 min Watch NowDocumentary
A moving portrait of traditional Finnish American culture in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, highlighting that fragile community of memory connecting ourselves with parents and grandparents. It uses the “biographical model” of folklore filmmaking to tell the story of Erikki Vourenmaa, a 92-year-old Finnish immigrant, and his family living near Ironwood, Michigan. This three-generation farm family works, celebrates, reflects, and grieves together. The film explores the meaning of family, ethnic history, aging and intergenerational bonds. It contrasts between the immigrant elder, his American-born son and the partially assimilated grandchildren to illustrate change and continuity in the "sauna belt" of the Lake Superior Region. As Dr. Sharon Sherman concluded, “Loukinen’s focus on the bonds between generations will strike emotional chords about family relationships and ethnic identity for numerous cultural groups.”
MOVIE COMMENTS
SIMILAR MOVIES
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Melodies of the mountains
The Other Side of the Wall
Return Home
Remember the Alamo
In the Frozen Tomb of Mongolia
Latvian Coyote
Polaris
Barcelona
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Travelers
The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)
Bossman
Spellbound
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Bad River
SIMILAR MOVIES
God Grew Tired of Us
IMDB 7.2 | Dec , 2006
Filmmaker Christopher Quinn observes the ordeal of three Sudanese refugees -- Jon Bul Dau, Daniel Abul Pach and Panther Bior -- as they try to come to terms with the horrors they experienced in their homeland, while adjusting to their new lives in the United States.Sans Soleil
IMDB 7.4 | Mar , 1983
A woman narrates the thoughts of a world traveler, meditations on time and memory expressed in words and images from places as far-flung as Japan, Guinea-Bissau, Iceland, and San Francisco.Tales from Arab Detroit
IMDB 0 | Jan , 1995
Tales from Arab Detroit is a video documentary offering a fascinating glimpse into the lives and struggles of the Arab American community in the Detroit tri-county area.Aan ons den arbeid
IMDB 8.5 | Nov , 2007
Documentary that shows the changing attitude towards immigrant labor in The Netherlands. The documentary follows three immigrants that arrived in Holland 30 years ago to work in a bakery.A Europa é um Jardim
IMDB 10 | Feb , 2024
Melodies of the mountains
IMDB 0 | Jan , 2006
Film about the singing and dancing culture of the Ingush peopleThe Other Side of the Wall
IMDB 7 | Mar , 2017
Honduran immigrants living in Mexico, teenage siblings Rocío and Ale must take over care of their two younger siblings after their mother is sentenced to prison on dubious grounds. Tensions grow between the pair as the decision must be made on whether to stay together in Mexico or split the family up to cross into the US to work.Return Home
IMDB 0 | May , 1992
After the near death of her grandfather, Chinese Canadian filmmaker Michelle Wong embarks on a personal journey back home to her small town of St. Paul, Alberta to speak to her grandparents about their journey from China to Canada.Remember the Alamo
IMDB 0 | Nov , 2017
A tribute to the Alamo Drafthouse located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, that was forced to close after three years when its lease was abruptly and unexpectedly terminated by its landlord. Employees and customers reflect on the impact the theater had made on its community in such a short amount of time.In the Frozen Tomb of Mongolia
IMDB 5.7 | Aug , 2014
Latvian Coyote
IMDB 0 | Dec , 2019
An absurd game of “finding happiness” is being played by local Latvian coyotes* and illegal immigrants on the Russian and the European Union border. It is a game with no winner – all participants are driven to play by the sense of despair. While one side leaves home and undertakes a perilous journey to the other side of the globe, hoping to spend the rest of their lives in a free country, the other side risks their freedom to earn a chance to stay right where they are, in their homeland. *coyote – someone who smuggles illegal immigrantsPolaris
IMDB 0 | Jun , 2012
Work. Eat. Sleep. And back to work. For a long time skippers in the North East of Scotland could not find locals to work on their fishing vessels. That was until Filipino fishermen started coming to town for work. Both nationalities strive to shorten the distance between two very different worlds.Barcelona
IMDB 6 | Jan , 1929
A walk through the landscapes of the province of Barcelona, Spain, as well as a testimony of the daily life and customs of its inhabitants.Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer
IMDB 6.7 | Nov , 2003
British documentarian Nick Broomfield creates a follow-up piece to his 1992 documentary of the serial killer Aileen Wuornos, a highway prostitute who was convicted of killing six men in Florida between 1989 and 1990. Interviewing an increasingly mentally unstable Wuornos, Broomfield captures the distorted mind of a murderer whom the state of Florida deems of sound mind -- and therefore fit to execute. Throughout the film, Broomfield includes footage of his testimony at Wuornos' trial.Travelers
IMDB 0 | Jun , 2023
The diaspora of Filipinos around the globe is driven mostly by the economics of supply and demand. The yearning for something better, stability, and self-validation leads a handful of sojourners from the provinces of the Philippines into the arms of one of its former colonial masters — the USA. But what happens when they finally get what they want? And how? Filmmaker Dennis Empalmado explores the musings of Filipino expatriates and hopeful immigrants in "Naglalakbay" (Travelers).The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)
IMDB 7 | Nov , 2008
Co-directed by acclaimed cinematographer Ellen Kuras and subject Thavisouk Phrasavath, this haunting documentary chronicles a refugee family’s epic journey from Laos in the aftermath of the secret war waged by the United States there to New York, where they find themselves fighting a different kind of war on the streets of Brooklyn. Filmed over the course of 23 years, THE BETRAYAL is a visually and emotionally stunning look at the complex ways in which the political shapes the personal.Bossman
IMDB 0 | Mar , 2025
A man recounts his life experiences from his youth in Türkiye, to his many years spent behind the counter at a small Fish & Chip shop in the UK.Spellbound
IMDB 7.4 | Mar , 2002
This documentary follows 8 teens and pre-teens as they work their way toward the finals of the Scripps Howard national spelling bee championship in Washington D.C.Bamboo Theatre
IMDB 6.8 | Sep , 2019
This film is a portrait of unique cultural space for Spirits, Gods and People. While permanent theatres are commonly built in most cosmopolitan modern cities, Hong Kong preserves a unique theatrical architecture, a Chinese tradition that has lasted more than a century - Bamboo Theatre.Bad River
IMDB 7 | Mar , 2024
Wisconsin's tribe's ongoing fight to protect Lake Superior for future generations. "Bad River" shows the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa's long history of activism and resistance in the context of continuing legal battles with Enbridge Energy over its Line 5 oil pipeline. The Line 5 pipeline has been operating on 12 miles of the Bad River Band's land with expired easements for more than a decade. The Band and the Canadian company have been locked in a legal battle over the pipeline since 2019.