The Act of Dreaming

John Maggio + Neha Shastry (Dir), 85 minutes, USA, Western New York Premiere

CITY CENTERPIECE

Co-Directors John Maggio and Neha Shastry in attendance.

The Act of Dreaming charts the path of three, recently-arrived immigrant families and their struggle to adjust to a new life in Buffalo, New York. 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 decades in a refugee camp. Filmed throughout 2024, the film offers a deeply intimate portrait into the lives of three families working to make the United States their home amid a shifting political landscape and widespread hostility towards immigrants.