Open A.I.R. Presents:
Double Feature: “€œLa Tierra de los Adioses”€ and “€œLa Bolsa”€
Immediately followed by a “€œWords Without Borders”€ Creative Writing Workshop
LOCATION: Immigrant Movement International, 108-59 Roosevelt Avenue, Corona, Queens, 11368. Near the 111th Street Stop on the 7 train.

Join Mexican independent journalist Chantal Flores and Queens award-winning filmmaker Stefani Saintonge for an evening of films, discussion and writing. In 2010, Chantal Flores taught a creative writing workshop at the Zapotitlán Palmas’s community middle school to almost 100 kids. “Words of Resistance” became a creative outlet for the students to express their realities and shape their world. In 2011, Chantal returned with filmmaker Stefani Saintonge to film “La Bolsa” and “La Tierra de los Adioses”, two short documentary films that explore the impact of immigration in the town. After a short screening, Chantal and Stefani will discuss their experience working with the community in Oaxaca and lead a creative writing workshop based on the work they did in that community.

This event is free and open to the public. This is a Spanish-English bilingual event.
La Tierra de los Adioses:
The Lopez family is split by a border. A mother and her three daughters stay in a rural Mexican town, where the lack of job opportunities have forced 50% of residents (80% of men) to migrate to the U.S. A father, a son and an uncle work construction in Richmond, Virginia dreaming about home but traumatized by the journey they endured to the other side. ‘La Tierra de los Adioses’ tells the modern immigration story about torn families, a culture of migration and the policies that keep the cycle spinning.

La Bolsa:
A documentary short about the role bag-making plays among women in the rural Mexican community, Zapotitlán Palmas. The town has suffered 50 percent migration to the U.S. making money from family abroad and weaving bags the top sources of income. Almost every woman in the town (and a few men) knows how to create these intricate, colorful bags. But as the bag goes out of style, weaving brings in less and less. The bag or “€œla bolsa,”€ their livelihood and their craft, is suffering under changing times.
Creative Writing Workshop: Words without Borders
This workshop invites you to slow down and look at your life through the lens of the writer. You will explore the skills of creative free writing to let your life stories emerge and understand better your world. In this workshop, you will find a free space that will allow you to have contact with yourself, and recognize and validate moments of your life through the written word.

About the Presenters

Chantal Flores is a Mexican independent journalist. She has worked in publications in Ghana, Toronto, and New York, and has traveled to Central America and various parts of Mexico to investigate the social impact of immigration.

Stefani Saintonge is an award-winning filmmaker and writer based in New York City. Her works have explored issues surrounding immigration, adolescent sex and homelessness. She is currently an adjunct professor at Hofstra University

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About Open A.I.R Artist Services Program
The expanded Queens Museum features a new, expanded slate of artist services, including a brand new Studio Program, with professional development features and a networking Lecture Series that draws on human resources at the Queens Museum. Open A.I.R. programs will offer professional development topics targeted specifically to all interested emerging artists.

Open A.I.R. is made possible by a generous grant from The Scherman Foundation’s Katharine S. and Axel G. Rosin Fund. Additional support provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs and New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.