it is difficult to imagine what it’s like.
Leaving home, family, country, traditions,
often language too and setting out in search
of a better life in a distant new place called...
Millions have taken that decisive step.
And then what?
For some, America is a dream realized. For others, a bitter disappointment.
For some, a land of opportunity,
for others an obstacle course.
For most, there is a decisive event, encounter, moment of realization that made the difference.
Whether you're from Germany, England, Italy or the Czech Republic, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan, China, or Cuba, whether you immigrated to America as a child, a young adult, or with your own children, or whether you were born to new immigrant parents.
Whether it was your own decision or your parents', whether you immigrated in the 20's, 50s' the 80s' or just yesterday, you must have one special story to tell.
We are looking for authentic anecdotes (1500-4000 words) from your own experience as an immigrant who chose to live in America. We are looking for short stories that can illuminate the big picture; dramatic accounts that transform the word 'immigrant' to something moving and personal; tales that express the very essence of being an immigrant in America.
We DO NOT want life stories or chronicles of the process of immigration.
We are looking for great, beyond the obvious, fact based stories which vividly convey what it's like to be an immigrant in America.
Maybe it was an encounter with a special person, a decisive moment that determined the course of your life in America, a coincidence, an unexpected opportunity, a rebuff, a misunderstanding, or maybe something else.
Maybe you have a special story about the moment you felt you became an American -or realized you never would be. It can be a depiction of the incident that led you to understand America, stories about friendships, language difficulties and misunderstandings or any other good story you might have.
Whether happy or sad, good or bad, hopeful or despairing, we want true stories that can touch, inspire and strike a responsive chord in the hearts of the American people, native-born and immigrants.
The goal of our project is to turn some of these stories into short films for public screening.
So if you think you have a special story to tell (remember, in 1500 to 4000 words!), share it with us now.
Send your story to:
The final goal of The Choosing America Project is to create a series of short films directed by a variety of directors who will choose from the pool of stories we are now collecting. What we are looking for are true short stories that express the very essence of being an immigrant in America.
On another level of the project we are planning to create a documentary on the 'making of' The Choosing America Project. This will include interviews with the writers, getting to know them and hearing about their experiences.
We don't have any political/social perspective. We have placed no value judgment on the stories we hope to elicit and subsequently film. We are open to hearing everything, good bad, angry, satisfied. We want the stories to be true, diverse and colorful to reflect reality and of course – to be interesting.
As for copyright and intellectual property issues: by sending us their stories, the writers do not waive intellectual rights or copyrights. If and when the project moves to the next stage, professional individual contracts to formalize these issues will be created and signed with every writer who will take part in the project.
The bios of the developers of this project do not appear on this site simply because we don't want the project to be affiliated with any particular background or country. All we are prepared to say at this point is that we ourselves are immigrants to the US.
The future of The Choosing America Project looks more and more promising with each passing day. We are receiving great feedback and response, some interesting proposals, and many good stories. The success and future of the project depends on the material that you send, so please don't hesitate to participate if you feel you have a good story to contribute.
If you have additional questions please contact us at lia@choosingamerica.com
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