Join us outdoors in Mifflin Square Park for a curated night of local, international, and award-winning short films, plus discussion, and live music! This event is presented in partnership with the Friends of Mifflin Square Park and El Comité de Trabajadorxs de Restaurante.

Film Program

Mazapán (USA / 2025 / 5 MIN)
Dir. Neil M. Wilson
Dedicated to generational joy, this short centers on the fragile ritual of eating the beloved Mexican candy, mazapán—hands slowing, crumbs falling, each attempt to keep it whole on the verge of collapse. Nostalgic and political, the film connects the misunderstood candy to who we are as immigrants, using it to counter the racist rhetoric of people who refuse to see the beauty in such simple moments of crumbles.

La Lucha Sigue (The Fight Continues) (USA / 2026 / 21 MIN)
Dir. Melissa Beatriz
La Lucha Sigue (The Fight Continues) is a short animated documentary that centers three immigrant rights leaders who work to shut down the Berks Detention Center in Pennsylvania, one of three prisons nationwide that had detained immigrant children and families.

Taking Root: Rebuilding Home (Episode 3) (USA / 2023 / 15 MIN) 
Dir. Oanh-Nhi Nguyen, Produced by Lan Dinh and Oanh-Nhi Nguyen
Ever wonder how the SEA market or Ba Le started? This episode highlights Southeast Asians rebuilt home in Philadelphia including Southeast Asian Market in FDR Park, Washington Ave business corridor, Wat Lao Temple, and Resilient Roots garden. In the midst of a failed refugee resettlement, communities came together to create sites of reclamation and self-determination.

Imaginary Lines (USA / 2025 / 9 MIN)
Dir. Nadia Hironaka and Matthew Suib
In this animated short film, a young woman prepares to leave Mexico and journey north after a quiet omen—a visit from La Mariposa Negra—signals that her ailing, blind brother’s life is in danger. Set against the migration of monarch butterflies, her departure mirrors their instinctive movement across borders, driven by survival and return. Grounded in memories of home, food, and family, she undertakes the journey not out of desire, but necessity. The film traces the emotional cost of migration, where love and sacrifice propel her into the unknown.

The World Cup in Recife (Brazil / 2014 / 15 MIN) 
Dir. Kleber Mendoniça Filho
A major figure in international cinema documents what happens when the World Cup arrives in his hometown. Alternating between interviews with locals and tourists, as well as his own commentary on the hubbub that takes over Recife once soccer teams start arriving, Filho’s film offers a mosaic-like look at how the World Cup upturns local customs and infrastructure. This becomes evident in his decision to foreground the eviction of activists protesting the event and the use of government funds to sponsor the construction of new highways instead of public transport.