PREMIERES OCTOBER 07, 2019 ON PBS

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“AN EXEMPLARY, MOVING, SHOW-DON'T-TELL RECORD OF FAMILY TENACITY.

An artful, winning documentary... worth paying to see theatrically."

upcoming screenings

Museum of the Moving Image – Check Link for More Dates

Astoria, Queens

INFO + TICKETS

Fri, Sep 13 - 7:00 pm

Bartos Screening Room

Sat, Sep 14 - 4:00 pm

Bartos Screening Room

Sat, Sep 14 - 6:00 pm

Bartos Screening Room

Sun, Sep 15 - 4:00 pm

Bartos Screening Room

Sun, Sep 15 - 6:30 pm

Bartos Screening Room

Ambulante Presenta

Guadalajara, Mexico

INFO + TICKETS

Thu, Sep 12 - 8:00 pm

Casa Loyola

Ambulante Presenta

Sonora

INFO + TICKETS

Thu, Sep 12 - 6:30 pm

ArteCINEMAclub

WINNER OF MORE THAN 16 INT'L FEST AWARDS   •   IDA SHORTLIST FOR BEST DOC   •   CINEMA EYE NOMINEE BEST FIRST FEATURE   •   FILM COMMENT BEST FILMS OF 2018

about the film

Three brothers confront the chasm between adolescent yearning and adult responsibilities when brought together to care for their charismatic ninety-three year old grandmother in this feature-length documentary debut from directors Erick Stoll & Chase Whiteside.

Diego is a young circus artist living away from his family in a dull landscape of tourist beaches and all-inclusive resorts when he must return home suddenly. His grandmother, América, fell from her bed, causing his father to be jailed under accusation of elder neglect.

Diego sees poetry and purpose in this tragedy. He believes América, despite her immobility and advanced dementia, fell willfully, to bring the separated family back together. He reunites with his estranged brothers and leaves his old life behind.

But now they face the considerable challenges of freeing their father from an opaque court system bereft of moral authority, and learning to be caretakers for someone who may not understand who they are.

And yet the greatest challenge might be learning to work together. As the brothers clash over money and the distribution of labor, difficult questions take the foreground – who decides what becomes of América? and how long will they put their lives on hold to care for her?

“A LITTLE MIRACLE OF GENTLENESS AND HUMANITY.”

“AMÉRICA IS A WONDERFUL FILM:

a big, jagged, sparkling chunk of human truth
that could have fallen from the skies.”

“AN OBSERVATIONAL TRIUMPH.

Tender and often heartbreaking… depicts caregiving
as a natural and vital expression of familial love.”

“A DOCUMENTARY OF UNUSUAL BEAUTY.

Captures family life in all its paradoxical
maddening love and tragedy.”

“A SOULFUL, SUNNY HANGOUT MOVIE.

Shot with an affectionate eye, it blows up an intimate
family portrait on to a large, cinematic canvas.”

“REACHES GRAND PHILOSOPHICAL HEIGHTS.

The movie's fusion of medical, legal, and personal issues echoes far beyond its short span."

“AN HONEST, INTIMATE TREATISE ON KINDNESS.

A film about what it means to have the best years of your life interrupted by the duty of care, and what’s more, to want that to happen.”

“A PORTRAIT OF REMARKABLE EMOTIONAL
DEPTH AND SENSITIVITY.”

“ONE OF THOSE RARE NON-FICTION
TREASURES THAT SEEMS SO EFFORTLESS
YET SO COMPLEX.”

“SHOTS ANY DOCUMENTARIAN WOULD KILL FOR.

Guided and distinguished by an alert mindfulness, an emotional intelligence determining where the camera needs to be and has the right to be.”

“STUNNING. THE SINCERE LOVE WE GLIMPSE
ECHOES FAR BEYOND THE CONFINES OF THE SCREEN.

This is a beautifully clear-eyed film, the stuff this medium is made for.
It’s deeply personal and, at the same time, totally relatable.”

“REVERBERATES WITH DEEP EMOTION.

Finding beauty, humour and tenderness in circumstances
that might otherwise be devoid of hope.”

“A GORGEOUS, EMOTIONALLY RICH FILM.

Bursting with simple moments of intimacy layered with the most
unexpected complexity, América carries enduring weight.”

“THE FILM IS A KNOCKOUT.

Full of vibrant characters, confrontation and love... challenges us to think both critically and personally about the ways we and society care for those at the end of their lives."

“BREATHTAKING”

“BRILLIANTLY CONSTRUCTED”

“A SMALL WONDER”

“TENDERLY OBSERVED”

“A WONDERFUL GEM”

“REMARKABLY UNIQUE”

“A SUBLIME, MAGICAL MASTERPIECE.
IT IS RARE TO SEE SO MUCH LIFE ON SCREEN.”

“A LITTLE MIRACLE OF GENTLENESS AND HUMANITY.”

“AMÉRICA IS A WONDERFUL FILM:

a big, jagged, sparkling chunk of human truth that could have fallen from the skies.”

“AN OBSERVATIONAL TRIUMPH.

Tender and often heartbreaking… depicts caregiving as a natural and vital expression of familial love.”

“A DOCUMENTARY OF UNUSUAL BEAUTY.

Captures family life in all its paradoxical maddening love and tragedy.”

“A SOULFUL, SUNNY HANGOUT MOVIE.

Shot with an affectionate eye, it blows up an intimate family portrait on to a large, cinematic canvas.”

“REACHES GRAND PHILOSOPHICAL HEIGHTS.

The movie's fusion of medical, legal, and personal issues echoes far beyond its short span."

“STUNNING. THE SINCERE LOVE WE GLIMPSE ECHOES FAR BEYOND THE CONFINES OF THE SCREEN.

This is a beautifully clear-eyed film, the stuff this medium is made for. It’s deeply personal and, at the same time, totally relatable.”

“A GORGEOUS, EMOTIONALLY RICH FILM.

Bursting with simple moments of intimacy layered with the most unexpected complexity, América carries enduring weight.”

“A PORTRAIT OF REMARKABLE EMOTIONAL DEPTH AND SENSITIVITY.”

“ONE OF THOSE RARE NON-FICTION TREASURES THAT SEEMS SO EFFORTLESS YET SO COMPLEX.”

“SHOTS ANY DOCUMENTARIAN WOULD KILL FOR.

Guided and distinguished by an alert mindfulness, an emotional intelligence determining where the
camera needs to be and has the right to be.”

“THE FILM IS A KNOCKOUT.

Full of vibrant characters, confrontation and love, and one which also challenges us to think both critically and personally about the ways we and society care for those at the end of their lives."

“REVERBERATES WITH DEEP EMOTION.

Finding beauty, humour and tenderness in circumstances that might otherwise be devoid of hope.”

“AN HONEST, INTIMATE TREATISE ON KINDNESS.

América is a film about what it means to have the best years of your life interrupted by the duty of care, and what’s more, to want that to happen.”

“BREATHTAKING”

“BRILLIANTLY CONSTRUCTED”

“A SMALL WONDER”

“TENDERLY OBSERVED”

“A WONDERFUL GEM”

“REMARKABLY UNIQUE”

“A SUBLIME, MAGICAL MASTERPIECE.
IT IS RARE TO SEE SO MUCH LIFE ON SCREEN.”

sales inquiries

CLEO VEGEL, DOGWOOF

festivals

LUKE BRAWLEY, DOGWOOF

schools & libraries

GRASSHOPPER FILM

general inquiries

ERICK & CHASE, FILMMAKERS