Land of Gold
by Karen Pecota

Nardeep Khurmi, USA, 2022

Featured filmmaker Nardeep Khurmi, and winner of the 2021 AT&T award of their “Untold Stories Program,” honors first-generation Americans and their pursuit for a better life in LAND OF GOLD.

Khurmi explains, "LAND OF GOLD’S heroes are first-generation Americans, reconciling their immigrant upbringings, wrestling with what to pass on to the next generation." Continuing, "Raw and lyrical, LAND OF GOLD is a complex, lived experience. It's an honest tale of family and community, one that is filled with empathy, humanity, and the hope that we are so much stronger together than we will ever be apart."

Synopsis:
Kiran Singh (Nardeep Khurmi), a first-generation Punjabi-American, nervously accepts a last-minute trucking job to Boston knowing it will worry his very pregnant wife, soon to give birth to their first child. They need the money and promises the job will be his last.

Kiran begins the journey only to discover a 10-year-old Mexican-American stowaway, Elena, has joined his ride. Kiran tries to get rid of her because of the implications and consequences he could face traveling with a minor on such a job; and, for Elena it’s a worse scenario if she's undocumented.

Kiran is curious as to why this child is running to Boston. He finds out and decides to take Elena to her destiny simply because he knows he can protect her, if she will only let him.

Ultimately, their journey helps each other face what they fear the most: for Kiran, about being a father and, Elena, to be able to trust again. Their road trip fosters conversations about family, dreams for their future and exciting debates about God's existence among their uncanny experiences.

Their journey allowed a growing appreciation of each other and helped both rise above the fears that held them hostage in order to travel a different path where their dreams would be realized. (KP)