Seeking Refuge In America: A Conversation with Tom Shepard, Director of UNSETTLED

ONLINE EVENT—What happens when LGBTQ refugees and asylum seekers attempt to settle in the United States and particularly in the San Francisco Bay Area? On July 22 at 5pm PT, join us in a conversation with director and GLAAD Media Award winner, Tom Shepard, and co-host Mina Para Matlon, board member at California Humanities. RSVP. Tom Shepard’s new film, UNSETTLED, is a feature-length documentary revealing the untold stories of LGBTQ refugees and asylum seekers who have fled intense persecution from their home countries and who are resettling in the U.S. The film follows four new arrivals, each of whom have escaped potential peril in their native countries for being different. They’ve landed in the purported “gay mecca” of San Francisco, yet even there, building a new life in an adopted nation is a precarious undertaking. What are the costs persecuted immigrants pay for seeking refuge? And how are everyday Americans stepping forward to help those most in need?

To register, visit Eventbrite. The event is free and open to the public.

UNSETTLED is streaming via worldchannel.org and PBS until July 12, 2020. Click here for more information. Questions? Contact John Nguyen-Yap, Outreach and Advocacy Manager, at jnguyenyap@calhum.org. About the Series: The Art of Storytelling is a series of exhibits that take place in California Humanities’ Oakland office at the historic Swan’s Market. The series celebrates and enlightens us about California’s cultures and history through rich artistic narratives and a variety of visual media. In order to continue exploring California together while also protecting each other’s health, The Art of Storytelling is continuing online for the time being. UNSETTLED is supported by California Humanities through a California Documentary Project grant.