The Paradox of Seabrook Farms

“The Paradox of Seabrook Farms” by Helga Merits, with cinematography by Amari Becker (of Confluence MFA Cohort 7.5). The screening will be followed by a Q&A around immigration, labor and food sovereignty with Professor Marc-Tizoc González of the University of New Mexico law school (final panel details TBD).

In the 1950s, Seabrook Farms was the biggest frozen food processing plant in the US and it needed farm and factory labour. The largest group of workers consisted of over 2,000 Japanese Americans who had been interned during the first years of the Second World War and had been looking for a new place to live. After the war, refugees from many countries in Europe came to Sea-brook Farms, amongst them were some 900 Estonians and 200 Latvians. Fifteen people from different ethnicities who grew up in Seabrook Farms tell their stories in the documentary.

They all had lost their homes and had to start again. Working at Seabrook farms meant seven-day weeks with ever changing shifts between night and day, work that was both physically and mentally draining. Amongst all the hardships they still found ways to keep up their cultural traditions and create new possibilities for their children.

The sixth documentary by Estonian-Dutch filmmaker and journalist Helga Merits. The making of was made possible by working with multiple communities in Seabrook and Bridgeton, New Jersey.

Visit the documentary website here. Run time: 85 minutes.