Community Impact Film Series — Immigration
- Sat, Jul 11
Run Time: 100 min. Release Year: 2026
FREE | Registration Required
Join us for the next Community Impact Film Series event focused on Immigration. This free community event combines film, conversation, and resources to educate, engage, and empower our community. The evening will feature a film screening, a panel discussion with community leaders and experts, and a resource fair connecting attendees with organizations and services that support immigrant communities. Together, we will explore the challenges, contributions, and experiences of immigrants while fostering understanding, dialogue, and meaningful community action.
10:30–11:00 AM: Resource Fair
11:00–11:15 AM: Music by La Brava
11:20 AM–1:00 PM: Film Screening – Gazelle
1:10–1:45 PM: Post-Screening Discussion
1:45–2:00 PM: Music by La Brava
2:00–2:30 PM: Resource Fair
Food Provide By Vitality Bowls Super Cafe and Dulce Dreams Cafe.
GAZELLE — Set in the liminal spaces of immigrant New York, Gazelle traces the inner and outer journey of Yakup, a Turkish music teacher exiled by political turmoil. As he fights to bring his family from Turkey, his days dissolve into a blur of menial jobs, shifting allegiances, and gnawing solitude. Between the labyrinth of U.S. immigration law and the peril of illicit escape, his reality becomes a fragile negotiation between hope and despair. A psychological drama of longing, resilience, and fractured identity.
Virtual Guest Speaker — Nadir Sarıbacak (Writer & Director) is an acclaimed Turkish actor and filmmaker based in New Jersey. His career spans landmark works in Turkish cinema and television, including Winter Sleep (Palme d’Or, Cannes 2014), Ivy (Sundance 2015), Magnificent Century: Kösem, and Leylak (Special Jury Mention, Tribeca 2021). His performances have earned multiple Best Actor honors, from the Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival to the Istanbul Film Festival.
Known for his layered and deeply human portrayals, Sarıbacak now brings that same emotional precision to Gazelle, his debut feature as a director.
Liza Ortiz (La Brava) is a Charlotte, North Carolina–based singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose music blends electro-pop, Latin rhythms, and Caribbean influences into a sound that is both joyful and deeply expressive. Performing under the name La Brava, Ortiz draws from her Puerto Rican and Venezuelan heritage to create vibrant, genre-crossing music rooted in storytelling, community, and cultural identity. In addition to her solo work, she has performed with Charlotte-based acts including Bravo Pueblo and CHÓCALA, helping shape the city’s contemporary Latin music scene.
Made possible through the generosity of Kathryn & Luke Kissam.