THE LETTER International Documentary Competition

“How long until we ore like Somalia?” asks a frustrated citizen of Lewiston, Maine. It sounds like a ludicrous question, but Ziad H. Hamzeh’s engaging documentary explores the complicated story behind this divided town.

Once, Lewiston’s 97% Caucasian population made it a uniformly white berg in the whitest state in America, while its profitable textile mill made the hamlet a model of the American dream. Half a century later, however, factory closings and on imploded industrial economy have left residents scratching for pennies and sourly resentful of the government-assisted “free ride” bestowed upon the 1,100 Somalis who have come seeking sanctuary.

Being both black and Muslim in a post-9-11 society only aggravates the fearful tension, and when the mayor publishes an open letter asking refugees to stop moving to Lewiston, the media-and the Klan-help all hell break loose. Caught in the struggle, a Somalian man speaks frankly to the camera: “This is not about the economy. This is about race.”