“New Homeland is a poignant story of new beginnings and of the challenges of creating a home after being displaced by violence. It’s also a tale of open-mindedness, empathy, and understanding as Kopple’s camera finds an exchange between a diverse group of Canadians.”
“[New Homeland] is a touching film and one that showcases Barbara Kopple’s unique gift of revealing the universality of hopes and dreams...”
“Barbara Kopple says doc comes at a time when U.S. is ‘turning its back’ on refugees”
“[New Homeland] offers an intimate look into the experiences of building a new home after fleeing the traumas of war.”
“By using the stories of these five young boys and their families, New Homeland offers a fair and positive study of just a handful of new Canadians among many. The film encourages viewers to ask the questions that the counsellors at Camp Pathfinder present to the young campers. It sees refugees as people, rather than as faceless statistics or tools for political agendas.”
Every summer since 1914, Camp Pathfinder, a summer camp located on a small island in the wilderness of Canada’s Algonquin Park, invites a community of boys and young men from all across Canada and the United States to spend a few weeks in the backcountry learning how to camp, hike, canoe and fish. Two years ago Camp Director Mike Sladden, heartbroken by the tragic images from the growing global refugee crisis but inspired by Canada’s growing intake of asylum seekers, had an idea. What if he could find a way to bring a group of displaced boys from war-torn Syria and Iraq, who recently settled in Canada, to spend the summer at Pathfinder? If the camp experience could have such a profound effect on generations of boys already, imagine what it would be like for these refugee boys.
Directed by two-time Academy Award winner Barbara Kopple, in collaboration with NowThis, NEW HOMELAND offers a unique and intimate perspective into the experience of building a new home after fleeing the traumas of war.