Films: On the other side
Formally "Buffalo Soldiers"
"A compelling, moving, and beautifully filmed account of labor migration told from
the perspective of the migrants themselves. A must-see for anyone interested in the
politics of labor, race, gender, class, and migration in the twentieth-century US."
-Jennifer Guglielmo, Assistant Professor of History, Smith College
Fighting to Survive
Each summer, Jamaican migrant farm workers flood the sleepy towns of rural Massachusetts, arriving to work the tobacco harvest—the staple crop of the region and the last to rely solely on manual labor. Traveling 3,000 miles, they spend up to eight months out of each year working amongst the vast sea of tobacco plants and suspended high above the rafters of the sheds where the plants are hung to dry.
Fighting In the Heart of America
On the Other Side, the first documentary from B-Line films, follows this group of Jamaicans through the highs and lows of the tobacco season, where they must make the best of a life far from home and cope with the mundane and often unpredictable nature of farm work. After enduring 80-hour workweeks in the race to harvest the tobacco, their feelings of pride and accomplishment become short lived, as tensions rise when keeping steady work suddenly becomes difficult. Their journey culminates with the bittersweet end of the season, when returning home to their families means leaving behind the surrogate family they have been part of for so long.
The Immigrant Debate
Media coverage of migrant workers tends to focus on the sensational—inhumane working conditions, poor housing, or other forms of exploitation.
The Immigrant’s Story
The story we discovered is far more subtle. Told in the workers’ own words, On the Other Side rises above the political to focus on the often-overlooked human face of migrant labor. What emerges is an inspirational story of sacrifice and love of family; of hard work and dedication; of bitter isolation and loneliness.
There was a buffalo soldier in the heart of America,
Stolen from Africa, brought to America,
Fighting on arrival, fighting for survival.
–Bob Marley
Learn more about the film, watch the trailer, browse the photo galleries.
Clips
Trailer: High Resolution
Downloads
None available
Galleries
See stills from the movie.
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Honors
Opening Night Selection:
New England Film and Video Festival
Official Selection:
Roving Eye Film Festival
Official Selection:
Society for Visual Anthropology/American Anthropological Association Conference, San Francisco, 2008