About

Los Angeles began its rise to world fame as people around the world in the mid-19th century began to hear about an idyllic place with a perfect climate, boundless sunshine, a magnificent setting with fertile plains, majestic mountains, sea shores with wide beaches and even scenic deserts. Los Angeles’ early boosters and developers heralded Los Angeles as a place where dreams could come true of a happy, prosperous and healthful life. Soon, hundreds of thousands of people from the far side of the North American continent began their difficult journey west to live in this paradise, while determined immigrants from around the globe overcame many obstacles to get to Los  Angeles. And the city began an extraordinary and rapid expansion until by the mid point of the 20th century it had become a vast city with wealth-producing industries – agriculture, aviation, manufacturing, petroleum, real estate booms, and most famously the glamorous motion picture industry. Opportunities to prosper seemed unlimited.

But the underside of all the sunshine and opportunity was the reality that not all who came to Los Angeles found the doors open to them. Racial lines were enforced in many aspects of daily life. Those who were not of Anglo-European descent had many obstacles to overcome in finding good paying jobs or embarking on professional careers. Segregation in neighborhoods and schools was common; higher education was often blocked to non-whites. The city advertised itself as the whitest and healthiest place to live in America, even while a large minority of Angelenos were non-white and forced to live in ethnic enclaves that were neglected by the city – conditions where a deadly disease could rapidly spread and medical care was unavailable.

This story of another Los Angeles – the Los Angeles that was not the paradise it was advertised to be – is told in this feature-length documentary through the compelling voices and stories of ethnically diverse elders who experienced what it was like to grow up with the many challenges and obstacles facing them. But they also tell their stories of resilience, hope and triumph, even as thousands among them suffered discrimination, prejudice and even mass deportation, or as in the case of Japanese-Americans, were taken away by decree and interned in distant camps without just cause.

Stories from Another Los Angeles reveals a fascinating, fuller and ultimately richer story behind the rise of this great world city.