
The New Americans
A diverse group of immigrants and refugees leave their home and families behind and learn what it means to be new Americans in the 21st century.

- Series
- Independent Lens, Global Voices
- Premiere Date
- March 29, 2004
- Length
- 420 minutes
- Funding Initiative
- Series and Special Projects

Gordon Quinn
Artistic Director and founding member of Kartemquin Films, 2007 recipient of the MacArthur award for Creative and Effective Institutions, Gordon Quinn has been making documentaries for more than 40 years. His producing credits include such award-winning and highly acclaimed films as Hoop Dreams; Vietnam, Long Time Coming; Golub; 5 Girls; Refrigerator Mothers; Stevie,… Show more

Gita Saedi Kiely
Gita is a filmmaker, programmer, educator, and nonprofit director. She produced with Kartemquin Films for many years, ran the Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, and taught at the University of Montana. She is currently director of FilmAid, on the boards of ITVS and Big Sky Film Institute, and a grants advisor to The Redford Center.

Steve James
Steve James is best known as the award-winning director, producer, and co-editor of Kartemquin's Hoop Dreams, which won every major critics award as well as a Peabody and Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award in 1995. The film earned Steve the Directors Guild of America Award, The MTV Movie Awards "Best New Filmmaker," and an Oscar nomination for editing. Hoop Dreams… Show more
- Other ITVS Films
- Abacus: Small Enough to Jail
- The Interrupters
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The Film
What does the “American dream” look like through the eyes of today's immigrants and refugees? From Nigeria, India, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, and the Israeli-occupied West Bank, they come with different dreams: to achieve athletic glory or high-tech riches, to escape poverty and persecution, to provide for their families. This seven-part series follows these newcomers from each of their homelands through their first tumultuous years in America.