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[ WHY MAKE THIS FILM ]
The US is home to 51 million immigrants, nearly half of which struggle with English. This hinders their access to basic needs — employment, healthcare, and education — and negatively affects communities everywhere. This language barrier for nearly half the immigrants in the U.S. is more than a practical inconvenience for them; it frequently leads to isolation, fear, and poverty.
ESL: More Than a Language, a documentary about immigrant families finding community through a unique three-generation family ESL program, explores what happens when people step across the barriers that so often divide us. When individuals and organizations dedicate time and resources to reach those whom American society has too often overlooked, especially when faced with the frustrations of language barriers, everyone benefits, and new Americans gain the empowerment and support they need to thrive in this country and in their communities.
Our vision as filmmakers is to make impact: 1) for minds to be changed when faced with another who does not speak their language. 2) to expand access to comprehensive ESL resources, including this unique family ESL model, by empowering community leaders to support multilingual families through programming that serves three-generations of language learners. 3) to create sustainable, inclusive programs that promote equitable access to education, services, and meaningful relationships.
[ Khawla, Ayat, & Jameel ]
Ayat believed life in America was the hope for her children’s futures, so she and her family left everything to pursue it. Years of struggle passed, each nearly driving the close-knit family to surrender and return to Jordan. Just when their endurance was at an end, their ESL community brought the support they needed to reach for each of their dreams.
[ GloirE ]
Driven from his home in the Congo by tribal war, Gloire lived most of his childhood in the refugee camps of Burundi. He spent his days like so many children: learning in school, playing countless games of soccer, and gazing in fascination at the rare airplanes that would fly overhead, wondering what it might be like to be a pilot himself. But when happenstance brought his family to Ohio, the new relationships he formed and resources he found became the stepping stones to make that dream a reality.
[ Asma ]
Despite the promise of opportunity, Asma looked out the window of her new American home with fear. A muslim woman like me could never be welcome. This isolation would be broken by the unlikeliest friend: a Jewish woman, a volunteer at Asma’s English class, who opened her eyes to the goodness that can be found anywhere.
[ THE LOPEZ FAMILY ]
Life in Venezuela was great. But when political turmoil turned the country upside down, the Lopez family was forced to leave behind their high-profile, successful careers for a seven-hundred square foot apartment and the daily struggle to provide. Hope seemed scant, until they connected with a unique family ESL program that laid the foundation for making America their second home.
Meet Our Participants
[ KIM EMCH ]
In 2007, as a wife and mother working in a midwest suburb, she learned there were over 2,000 children facing poverty in her suburban town. With a call on her life to love and serve her neighbors and an army of volunteers, what started as a free summer lunch camp grew to afterschool tutoring then a three generation family English program. June 2025, she took a trip of a lifetime for month to Jordan with her dear friends Khawla, Ayat, Jameel and their extended family. This social justice entrepreneur dreams of every major US city having a three-generation family ESL program mobilizing hundreds of thousands of Americans to serve our neighbors and build life-changing relationships across the lines of difference.
[ Joyce Gericke ]
When Joyce retired from her career as Executive Assistant, she wanted to give back and volunteer. Her husband suggested she help at a family ESL program at his church. As a Jewish woman, she decided to give it a try. She started helping as an assistant teacher in the adult ESL classroom, never expecting stay for 10 years and to meet friends that would be as close as a daughter and grandchildren.
[ Bob Masheter ]
Bob grew up in a Christian home regularly hearing racist remarks. As an adult, he worked to build relationships across lines of difference. After 911, the feelings about ‘others’ creeped back in. Following his wife, whom he dearly respects, he began volunteering to teach ESL meeting people from around the globe that dramatically changed his life and his heart over the last 10 years He’s learning Arabic, Spanish and Ukrainian to better communicate with his friends from his class.
[ Nick Williams ]
Growing up, he looked into the sky dreaming of being a pilot. His journey took him to the sheriffs office where he has worked for decades, becoming a detective. COVID gave him the opportunity to chase his childhood dream. He became a pilot, purchased a plane and started a nonprofit to help young people dreaming of flying. He is now a mentor to dozens of future pilots.
[ Joseph and Irma Chon ]
Joseph immigrated with his father from Korea, met his wife Irma in California, and earned his doctorate degree in the USA. They pastor a church in Columbus, Ohio, where they met Kim Emch and have been partners in ministry for 18 years. They have started and led partner ministries: a community garden, a farmers market stand where women can sell food to earn income for their family, a daytime conversation class for women and their preschoolers, and a dignity-based Christmas store.
[ NOTE FROM THE FILMMAKERS ]
As a group of predominantly white filmmakers telling the stories of a diverse range of people, we recognize the need for a highly thoughtful and ethically responsible approach to this documentary. Our role, as a resourced entity intruding into the lives of immigrant families in the U.S., demands that we consciously distance ourselves from a Western-centric perspective. This requires uncovering and addressing implicit biases that could influence storytelling and hinder the building of genuine empathy.
Although we believe this story is relevant and applicable on a national scale, as filmmakers, we have a deep connection to the Columbus community. As a result, Central Ohio will be the primary geographical placement of this story and in partnership with Festa, a non-profit organization dedicated to ending generational poverty through 3-Generation Family ESL programs. This localized perspective not only enriches our storytelling, ensuring we represent the voices of our participants with sensitivity and accuracy, but also allowed us to truly highlight and authentically engage with the challenges and triumphs faced by immigrants with limited english proficiency.
[ FESTA ]
Festa is a Christian non-profit based in Columbus, Ohio serving individuals in suburban poverty through their flagship program: 3-Generation Family English as a Second Language classes. Read their annual report here or visit their website for more information. If you are interested in starting a 3-Generation Family ESL program in your community, click the button below to get connected.
[ CAST AND CREW ]
Starring:
Ayat Nababta, Khawla Ahmad, Jameel Qatanani, Asma Alasmar, Joyce Gericke, Brise and Boris Lopez, Haifa Brunney, Sara Lopez, Gloire Mujanama, Nick Williams, Bob Masheter, Irma and Joseph Chon, Kim Emch
Producers:
Taylor McClintock and Jack McClintock and J. William Barlow and Tobias Zuniga-Shaw
Executive Producers:
Jack McClintock and Walter Krumm III
Executive Producers:
Kim Emch and Lydia Emch
Directed By: J. William Barlow
Director of Photography: Grant Smucker
Impact Producer: Tamarra Campbell
Edited By: Averie Renee Rulli
Composer: Ashley Corryn & Austin Bruns
Sound: Caleb Faizi
Assistant Sound: Andrea Lowe and Rain Littlebear
Gaffer/Grip: Matt Maynard
Grip: Jacob Augenstein
Post-Production Sound: Jay Alton
Translation Assistance: Feda Shweiki, Aseel Habboo, Rim Yousef
Special Thanks:
Festa, Urban Aviators Society, The Wedgewood Circle, John Glenn Columbus International Airport, The Hills Market of Worthington, Dino Tripodis, Kelly & Dave Wilson, Kristina Kendall, Brett Tingley, Andrea Seebaum & Steven Deutsch, Nadine Whiteman
