Contemplative Activism
Breaking the Silence: Film, Memory, and Migration as Acts of Resistance
Filmmaker Luis Argueta examines how personal narrative, historical memory, and documentary cinema confront injustice and build solidarity with displaced and immigrant communities.
- Format
- Self-paced, five video lessons
- Time
- Five lessons, about 10 minutes each
- Teaching partner
- Pacific School of Religion
Drawing on his immigration trilogy and earlier films, Argueta explores how storytelling through film exposes systemic violence, recovers silenced histories, and fosters solidarity with immigrants and refugees.
What the course covers
- The Power of Storytelling to Overcome Fear and Silence
- Seeing the Invisible: Migration and Labor
- Historical Memory and Trauma
- Humanizing Migration: The Beginning of the Immigration Trilogy
- Bearing Witness and Continuing the Journey
What you’ll learn and practice
- Understand the relationship between personal narrative, historical memory, and justice
- Analyze how film can confront oppression and promote solidarity
- Reflect on your own silences and untold stories
- Develop strategies to use storytelling for advocacy and education