A teenager must choose America or Uganda.
THE NIGHT I LEFT AMERICA is used with permission from Laki Karavias. Learn more at thenightileft.com.
Kyamagero is a young teen who lives in the middle of Texas, living in a ramshackle trailer with his family. Years ago he and his mother came from Uganda, where they hoped to make a better life for themselves. It's not the life he imagined, but it's better than the life of struggle he and his family had had before.
But when his mother's work visa may not be renewed, they face the prospect of going back to Uganda. Now Kyamagero finds himself at a crossroads and must choose between holding onto the promise of American opportunity or learning to embrace the life he left behind in Uganda.
Directed and written by Laki Karavias, this wondrous short drama has a young immigrant to the U.S. as its heart and soul. But while the uncertainty and travails of immigration are catalysts in the storyline, its thematic ground leans more towards a celebration of heritage, community and roots, as its young teen character sifts between what he's been told is success and what is truly valuable in life.
The film is essentially about a young man awaiting the next turn his life will take, and contemplating what that means for him. But visually and intellectually, the storytelling is ambitious, balancing multiple layers of meaning, timeframes, and geographic locations. As it shuttles between the past in Uganda and present-day Texas, it also weaves a lonely, careworn naturalism in Texas with the vibrant, impressionistic evocation of life in Uganda, full of color, music, movement and energy.
As Kyamagero and his mother await the letter that will either confirm or deny her work visa's renewal, we explore both his memories of life in Uganda when he was younger and his present life in Texas, where he's surrounded by suburban affluence and material prosperity, while he and his mother live in a trailer. He spends his time learning about investing and other matters of personal finance, clearly dreaming the archetypal American dream. As Kyamagero, actor Erick Kiyega captures his character's restlessness, energy and curiosity, as well as a deep affection for his family. And as he contemplates the future, he begins to see what is valuable and true about his ancestral homeland.
Wise, heart-warming and beautiful, THE NIGHT I LEFT AMERICA gently questions the meaning of success, wealth and power in what we think of as "the American dream." But it goes beyond that, questioning exactly what makes someone wealthy. Kyamagero wants to be materially prosperous, but as he remembers conversations with his dead father -- and images of Ugandan community, music and togetherness fill the screen -- he also comes to see the richness of the life he left behind. He remembers his father's wise words: a tree's strength doesn't come from how big it is, or how much space it takes up. Instead, it comes from how deep and strong its roots are, keeping it upright no matter what life throws at it above.