They thought America was a glittering land of wealth and fame . . . they were wrong. Fifteen immigrant and refugee teenagers tell their stories of coming to New England and share their perspectives in The Whole World Waiting, a compilation of documentary vignettes lushly shot by David Meiklejohn at locations in and around Portland, Maine. The subjects, participants in a Portland-based literacy organization akin to Dave Eggers's 826 Boston, are seen on the waterfront, at a goat farm, and onstage at a historic theater downtown. They present their self-composed monologues in intimate voiceover and straight to the camera, as though we are being let in on strangers' secrets. Which, in a way, we are. It's telling that almost every one of the kids is alone in their video short; they so rarely get the opportunity to tell their unique stories. This is that chance. (Read more about Portland's "Young Writers and Leaders Project")
