THE ACT OF DREAMING
Directed by John Maggio and Neha Shastry
Development Producer: Dana Brandes-Simon
From directors John Maggio and Neha Shastry, The Act of Dreaming is a feature-length verité documentary that charts the path of three recently arrived immigrant families and their struggle to adjust to a new life in Buffalo, New York. Filmed throughout 2024, this documentary offers a deeply intimate portrait of three families working to make the United States their home amid a shifting political landscape and widespread hostility towards immigrants.
The Act of Dreaming skillfully weaves the stories of an Ecuadorian family navigating a complex immigration system after crossing the southern border; a Syrian father struggling to financially support his family of seven after fleeing their homeland during the Syrian Civil War; and a mother and daughter from Burma learning to adjust to a new way of life after living in a Thai refugee camp for 27 years.