“AN EXEMPLARY, MOVING, SHOW-DON'T-TELL RECORD OF FAMILY TENACITY.
An artful, winning documentary... worth paying to see theatrically."
GLENN KENNY NEW YORK TIMES
upcoming screenings
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
Thu, Sep 12 - 8:00 pm
Casa Loyola
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.”
PETER BRADSHAW THE GUARDIAN
“AMÉRICA IS A WONDERFUL FILM:
a big, jagged, sparkling chunk of human truth
that could have fallen from the skies.”
NIGEL ANDREWS THE FINANCIAL TIMES
“AN OBSERVATIONAL TRIUMPH.
Tender and often heartbreaking… depicts caregiving
as a natural and vital expression of familial love.”
KEVIN MAHER THE TIMES OF LONDON
“A DOCUMENTARY OF UNUSUAL BEAUTY.
Captures family life in all its paradoxical
maddening love and tragedy.”
CHRISTINA NEWLAND EMPIRE MAGAZINE
“A SOULFUL, SUNNY HANGOUT MOVIE.
Shot with an affectionate eye, it blows up an intimate
family portrait on to a large, cinematic canvas.”
SIMRAN HANS THE GUARDIAN
“REACHES GRAND PHILOSOPHICAL HEIGHTS.
The movie's fusion of medical, legal, and personal issues echoes far beyond its short span."
RICHARD BRODY NEW YORKER
“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.”
MATT TURNER LITTLE WHITE LIES
“A PORTRAIT OF REMARKABLE EMOTIONAL
DEPTH AND SENSITIVITY.”
SOPHIE BROWN SIGHT & SOUND
“ONE OF THOSE RARE NON-FICTION
TREASURES THAT SEEMS SO EFFORTLESS
YET SO COMPLEX.”
STEPHEN SAITO MOVEABLE FEAST
“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.”
NICK PINKERTON ART FORUM
“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.”
CATHY BRENNAN TIMEOUT LONDON
“REVERBERATES WITH DEEP EMOTION.
Finding beauty, humour and tenderness in circumstances
that might otherwise be devoid of hope.”
JORDON SMITH SENSES OF CINEMA
“A GORGEOUS, EMOTIONALLY RICH FILM.
Bursting with simple moments of intimacy layered with the most
unexpected complexity, América carries enduring weight.”
KELLI WESTON THE SKINNY
“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."
SCOTT MACAULAY FILMMAKER MAGAZINE
“BREATHTAKING”
LAUREN WISSOT FILMMAKER MAGAZINE
“BRILLIANTLY CONSTRUCTED”
LINDA MARRIC HEYUGUYS
“A SMALL WONDER”
REDMOND BACON DIRTY MOVIES
“TENDERLY OBSERVED”
SIMRAN HANS THE OBSERVER
“A WONDERFUL GEM”
SARAH KENT THE ARTS DESK
“REMARKABLY UNIQUE”
DAN BULLOCK CRITICAL POPCORN
“A SUBLIME, MAGICAL MASTERPIECE.
IT IS RARE TO SEE SO MUCH LIFE ON SCREEN.”
JOSHUA OPPENHEIMER THE ACT OF KILLING
“A LITTLE MIRACLE OF GENTLENESS AND HUMANITY.”
PETER BRADSHAW THE GUARDIAN
“AMÉRICA IS A WONDERFUL FILM:
a big, jagged, sparkling chunk of human truth that could have fallen from the skies.”
NIGEL ANDREWS THE FINANCIAL TIMES
“AN OBSERVATIONAL TRIUMPH.
Tender and often heartbreaking… depicts caregiving as a natural and vital expression of familial love.”
KEVIN MAHER THE TIMES OF LONDON
“A DOCUMENTARY OF UNUSUAL BEAUTY.
Captures family life in all its paradoxical maddening love and tragedy.”
CHRISTINA NEWLAND EMPIRE MAGAZINE
“A SOULFUL, SUNNY HANGOUT MOVIE.
Shot with an affectionate eye, it blows up an intimate family portrait on to a large, cinematic canvas.”
SIMRAN HANS THE GUARDIAN
“REACHES GRAND PHILOSOPHICAL HEIGHTS.
The movie's fusion of medical, legal, and personal issues echoes far beyond its short span."
RICHARD BRODY NEW YORKER
“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.”
CATHY BRENNAN TIMEOUT LONDON
“A GORGEOUS, EMOTIONALLY RICH FILM.
Bursting with simple moments of intimacy layered with the most unexpected complexity, América carries enduring weight.”
KELLI WESTON THE SKINNY
“A PORTRAIT OF REMARKABLE EMOTIONAL DEPTH AND SENSITIVITY.”
SOPHIE BROWN SIGHT & SOUND
“ONE OF THOSE RARE NON-FICTION TREASURES THAT SEEMS SO EFFORTLESS YET SO COMPLEX.”
STEPHEN SAITO MOVEABLE FEAST
“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.”
NICK PINKERTON ART FORUM
“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."
SCOTT MACAULAY FILMMAKER MAGAZINE
“REVERBERATES WITH DEEP EMOTION.
Finding beauty, humour and tenderness in circumstances that might otherwise be devoid of hope.”
JORDON SMITH SENSES OF CINEMA
“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.”
MATT TURNER LITTLE WHITE LIES
“BREATHTAKING”
LAUREN WISSOT FILMMAKER MAGAZINE
“BRILLIANTLY CONSTRUCTED”
LINDA MARRIC HEYUGUYS
“A SMALL WONDER”
REDMOND BACON DIRTY MOVIES
“TENDERLY OBSERVED”
SIMRAN HANS THE OBSERVER
“A WONDERFUL GEM”
SARAH KENT THE ARTS DESK
“REMARKABLY UNIQUE”
DAN BULLOCK CRITICAL POPCORN
“A SUBLIME, MAGICAL MASTERPIECE.
IT IS RARE TO SEE SO MUCH LIFE ON SCREEN.”
JOSHUA OPPENHEIMER THE ACT OF KILLING
