La Ciudad (the City)

The City (Spanish: La ciudad) is a 1998 American neo-realist film written and directed by David Riker, his first feature film, and shot in gritty black-and-white film stock. The drama features actor Joseph Rigano and, in neo-realist fashion, an ensemble cast of non-professional actors. The film is also known as: The City (La Ciudad). The drama consists of four vignettes that plunges you onto New York City's poorer neighborhoods where Latin American immigrants, many of whom barely speak English, live at the mercy of exploitative employers and inflexible institutions. Many of the characters are in the United States illegally to make money in order to send back home to their poor families. The picture won numerous awards including the Organisation Catholique Internationale du Cinéma et de l'Audiovisuel (OCIC Award) at the San Sebastián International Film Festival.