Bridgewater Local’s Documentary Sheds Light On Refugee Population

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — Bridgewater filmmaker Daniella Hobbs’ documentary is among the films to be shown at the inaugural VilleFest in Somerville on Saturday.

Hobbs’ film "City of Good Neighbors" is a short documentary focusing on the refugee population in Buffalo, New York. Specifically looking at the ways refugees are contributing to the overall development of the city.

"I thought it was a unique perspective versus the current debate on welcoming refugees," Hobbs said.

Hobbs has always been interested in film.

"In middle school I would take my family’s camcorder and run around with friends and make horrible videos," Hobbs said. "I had always been kind of a storyteller and it just transferred naturally over."

Hobbs began filming "City of Good Neighbors" in the winter and spring of 2016 as part of her senior thesis when the refugee crisis became a hot topic with Donald Trump running for President, she said.

"My co-producer found an article about the refugee center in Buffalo and we started looking into it and found that the city has really set up a space for them to thrive on their own. I thought this was an important perspective to share," Hobbs said.

"City of Good Neighbors" will be shown at Somerville’s first film festival which was brought to town by Bridgewater-Raritan High School grads Steven Chiocchi and Kyle Marino. (See Related: Bridgewater Locals To Bring Film Festival To Somerville)

The film will be shown under the Mira Al Futuro Shorts Block category that airs from 4 to 6 p.m. in the United Reform Church at 100 W Main St. in Somerville.

"It’s really exciting and also kind of upsetting," Hobbs said when she found out her film was accepted into the festival. "My hope would be that this topic wouldn’t be relevant anymore but it is still relevant. But it is important to get more people to see what is going on."

To learn more about Hobbs and her film visit dmae.media. For more information on VilleFest and how to get tickets visit villefest.org.

Have a news tip? Email alexis.tarrazi@patch.com.

Get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our new app. Download here.