Turban Pulled Off on the Subway

Discrimination & Inequity

Race & Ethnicity

Religion & Belief

I felt powerless, really embarrassed, isolated and alone...someone pulling off my turban is so dehumanizing.

Sonny

, New York

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From Here

2020 • 89 mins

From Here Film

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Filmed over a decade, FROM HERE interweaves the lives of Tania, Miman, Sonny, and Akim — young artists and activists from immigrant families grappling with belonging amid rising nationalism.

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About the Film

FROM HERE is a hopeful story of Tania, Sonny, Miman, and Akim - artists and activists based in Berlin and New York whose lives and futures hang in the balance of immigration and integration debates. As the US and Germany grapple with racism, nationalism, and a fight over their national identities, our protagonists move from their 20s into their 30s and face major turning points in their lives: fighting for citizenship, starting families, and finding room for creative expression. Spanning a decade in two of the world’s largest centers of immigration, this sensitive and nuanced documentary captures their journeys to redefine what it means to “belong” in societies that are increasingly hostile to their existence. FROM HERE offers four distinct visions of resistance and resilience–showing not only their struggle, but enormous power. 89 Min (U.S., Germany 2020) English, German, Spanish, Romani, Panjabi, Vietnamese available with English, German, Spanish, French, Arabic, and Dutch subtitles and captions.

Full Synopsis

From the epicenter of today's global migration debates, FROM HERE (formerly With Wings and Roots*) follows four young people who represent the future of global citizenry. Filmed over the better part of a decade in two of the world’s largest immigration countries–the U.S. and Germany–FROM HERE captures an international generation’s fight for belonging in an era of rising nationalism.

Director's Statement

“

Humans have always migrated to survive and thrive. And while migration is as old as humanity, its speed has increased. Migration is currently changing the face of nearly every society around the world. Goods, weapons, capital, pollutants, and information can move ever more freely, but humans cannot. Millions are denied their basic dignity because of being born on the wrong side of a border or trying to cross one.

Far-right politicians and parliamentarians around the world have moved into the highest offices by exploiting anti-immigrant rhetoric. Underlying this reality are very deep, often hidden beliefs about who really belongs.

Film Stills

People in the Film

Tania Mattos

Film Protagonist and Activist

Tania is an Aymara descendent, Bolivian-born, Queens-based organizer, and strategist. She joined Envision Freedom with 14 years of experience as an immigrant and worker rights organizer and advocate. As Legislative Coordinator for the New York State Youth Leadership Council, she helped organize the first Education Not Deportation program in New York that stopped the deportation of undocumented youth people. Tania is a co-founder of Queens Neighborhoods United, a grassroots anti-gentrification collective. Tania was a DACA recipient from 2012 to 2019.

Miman Jasarovski

Film Protagonist and Activist

Miman Jasarovski is an German-born, Roma activist who has worked for many years on the rights of the Roma & Sinti communities, as well as a right to stay as a social worker for refugees. He is one of the protagonists in the documentary FROM HERE and, together with other activists of the initiative With Wings and Roots and racial justice and immigrant rights organizations, has initiated the campaign "Pass(t) uns Allen" (Citizenship Suits Us All) for the extension of German citizenship rights for all people born in Germany.

Sonny Singh

Film Protagonist, Musician and Activist

Sonny Singh Film Protagonist Activist + Musician is a musician and social justice educator based in Brooklyn, NY. He has been active in movements for social and economic justice since he was a teenager and worked as a labor and community organizer in his 20s. He received his Master’s Degree in Social Justice Education at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and has nearly 20 years of experience facilitating workshops and giving talks on anti-oppression, racial equity, and social justice issues. As a musician, Sonny has brought his fiery trumpet and vocals to audiences around the world as an original member of bhangra brass band Red Baraat. He released his first solo album, Chardi Kala, in 2022.

Akim Nguyen

Film Protagonist & Visual Artist

Akim Nguyen Film Protagonist + Artist is a conceptual artist based in Berlin, Athens, and Bulgaria. Born in Vietnam, Akim came to Germany as the child of "boat people," and this began his nomadic orientation towards life. Akim got his start as a graffiti artist in Berlin in the early 1990's, becoming a well-known figure in the international street art scene for his original typefaces. Akim is a prolific collaborator, community builder, and pollinator who has participated in projects and exhibitions in galleries and museums around the world.