“New Homeland,” Oscar winner Barbara Kopple’s latest documentary, sees five refugee boys from Syria and Iraq going to summer camp, a fairly common rite of passage for kids in the U.S. and Canada. The trailer hints that kicking back for two weeks of swimming, hiking, and canoeing is easier said than done for this particular group of young men.
The boys have been through a lot, and survived things most of us couldn’t even imagine. So, for them, camp isn’t just about having fun: it’s also about learning how to have fun.
Some of the young men are still getting used to their new homes in Canada, and are nervous to be separated from their parents. “Don’t let anything scare you. Have fun,” a mother tells her son as she says goodbye. A father reminds the children to “Take care of yourselves, your friends, and of everyone.”
The spot shows the boys having the typical summer camp experience — teasing each other, enjoying the great outdoors, and occasionally getting on each other’s nerves — as well as the hardships they’re facing as refugees. “I want to go back home,” one of the boys admits. “I think every day, every time, of my home.”
Kopple won the Best Feature Documentary Academy Award for “American Dream” and “Harlan County U.S.A.” She received Emmy nods for “Running from Crazy,” “A Century of Women,” and “Fallen Champ: The Untold Story of Mike Tyson.” “A Murder in Mansfield,” “This Is Everything: Gigi Gorgeous,” and “Miss Sharon Jones!” are among her more recent documentaries.
“New Homeland” will make its world premiere tomorrow, November 13, at DOC NYC. The film is produced in collaboration with NowThis.
