"Credible Fear" Sneak Peek Fundraiser

Join us for a very special evening at Immigrant Food to watch a sneak peek of the forthcoming feature length documentary Credible Fear.

What's the film about?

When Yojana, a Guatemalan asylum seeker, and Amy, a DC attorney, match through a pro bono legal aid program in the US's largest immigration detention center, their chance encounter blossoms into a lifelong friendship, forged in their shared determination to find justice. Filmed over seven years, this longitudinal film reveals the intricacies and failures of the asylum system through the intimate journey of one case, serving as a sobering counterpoint to a hyper-politicized and widely misunderstood issue.

What comes with my ticket?

• Networking with other community members who are passionate about film, immigration, and women's rights
• Delicious food and beverages from the award-winning team at Immigrant Food
• Learning about asylum, a critical and life-saving path to safety for hundreds of thousands of people fleeing violence and persecution
• A sneak peek of scenes from the film
• Q&A session with the director and special guest Yael Schacher
• The good vibes of knowing you helped support a local filmmaker and a local business, all in one night! Your generous support will help us film the finale of our film this fall!

Q&A Speakers:

Gabrielle Ewing (Director) is an Emmy-nominated documentary filmmaker and journalist specializing in digital-first edutainment series. She has worked at NBC, CNN, and National Geographic, where her work was part of a package named a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize. Gabrielle graduated with honors in Journalism and Film & Television from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts and recently earned a Certificate in Diversity & Inclusion from Cornell. Gabrielle is the Director of “Credible Fear”, overseeing the story development, script writing, and creative vision, leading fundraising efforts and partnerships, managing subject relations, field producing, and conceptualizing impact strategy and distribution since 2018. She's looking forward to answering your questions!

Yael Schacher is the director for the Americas and Europe at Refugees International. Prior to joining Refugees International, Yael researched the relationship between immigration and refugee policy for her forthcoming book on the history of asylum in the U.S. since the late nineteenth century. She taught at the University of Connecticut and lectured on immigration history and refugee policy at Harvard Law School, the University of Minnesota, Catholic University of Eichstaett-Ingolstadt and numerous academic conferences and public forums. While teaching at UConn, Yael helped with asylum and humanitarian visa cases at the Connecticut Institute for Refugees and Immigrants. While a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas at Austin just before starting at Refugees International, Yael combined historical research on asylum and advocacy on behalf of asylum seekers (with the law school’s immigration clinic and with the organization Justice for Our Neighbors). Yael has an M.A. in History and a Ph.D. in American Studies from Harvard University and a B.A. in literature from Columbia University. She joined the Credible Fear team as an expert consultant in 2022.

Info: Grab a drink and a snack and meet your fellow community members. Take a seat for the screening.

Info: We'll screen several scenes from the film, hold a discussion, and take questions from the audience.

Info: Attendees can have a one-on-one discussion with panelists, or discuss further amongst themselves.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Immigrant Food Ballston, 4245 Fairfax Drive, Arlington, United States