The documentary focuses on the Kennedy Park futsal courts, where pickup games are played almost every day. Contributed / Photo by Santiago Tijerina

A passion for soccer, a connection to Maine immigrants and a project in documentary studies forcefully aligned for Portland resident Santiago Tijerina last fall when he directed the documentary short film “Courts of Belonging.” Showcased at the Maine Outdoor Film Festival Selects Tour in Scarborough on Sept. 5, the film has gained awards and grants and is on its way to becoming a full-length feature.

“Courts of Belonging” highlights the futsal court located in Kennedy Park and how its games build community for immigrant and refugee residents of neighborhood. Futsal, a version of soccer with a small ball on a paved surface with five players, first arose in South America has steadily gained popularity internationally and in Portland. Responding to this enthusiasm for the sport in East Bayside, the city of Portland opened a futsal court in summer of 2021.

The documentary emphasizes how the futsal games offer a sense of belonging to socially isolated immigrants and refugees residing in East Bayside, one of the most diverse neighborhoods in Maine. Players take the court in multilingual pickup games organized by Kennedy Park Pickup Soccer almost every day.

The community organization Kennedy Park Pickup Soccer regularly hosts free multilingual futsal games in one of Maine’s most diverse neighborhoods. Contributed / Photo by Santiago Tijerina

“The story is about how the game really brings people together, how it instills confidence,” said Tijerina, “(in) people who have had their confidence taken away from them, and how it breaks barriers and brings people together.”

Tijerina participated in Kennedy Park futsal and was connected to the immigrant community of Portland prior to starting this project.

In the fall of 2023 after graduating from University of Maine Orono with a degree in International Affairs, Tijerina moved to Portland and began working at the Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center, a nonprofit that assists new Mainers with language acquisition and economic and civic navigation.

In his free time, Tijerina became a core organizer for Kennedy Park Pickup Soccer, he said. The leadership of the grassroots group organizes regular free futsal games on the court, mentors school- and college-age players, and coordinates sponsorships from local businesses.

Tijerina credits the volunteer group’s commitment to the club to their “obsession for the beautiful game” and to the Kennedy Park community.

“It’s all about leadership. It’s about mentorship. It’s about consistent organization of soccer games for the community,” said Tijerina.

“It’s about holding our values firm. Our values of inclusivity, of community before competition, of grassroots organizing and also securing help from sponsors,” he said.

Simultaneously that fall, Tijerina attended the Salt Institute for Documentary Studies, a 15-week certificate program of the Maine College of Art and Design. For the program’s short film project, he turned the camera to his now-familiar futsal court.

“(The Salt Institute) really gave me the chance to think about what story I wanted to tell and what story I wanted to contribute to documenting Maine and Maine people,” he said.

Orono filmmaker Santiago Tijerina is the son of two Columbian immigrants, which motivated him to focus his camera on the immigrant communities of Portland. Contributed / Santiago Tijerina

Tijerina’s upbringing in Orono also deeply influenced his documentary, he said. A first-generation Mainer born to Columbian parents, Tijerina wanted his work to foster understanding for immigrants and refugees in Maine communities.

“Maine is not so diverse. I literally grew up in Orono, Maine, so I know what it feels like to be highlighted, really spotlighted, right?” he said. “I think that makes for stories like these to have more weight.

“That’s why I’m putting a lot of emphasis on bringing (‘Courts of Belonging’) around colleges and high schools across the state, so that people can really understand where a lot of their classmates are coming from, because you’re seeing a huge influx in refugee, asylum seekers, immigrants in Maine.”

In addition to screening at schools and in Scarborough, the film has been shown at Maine Outdoor Film Festival’s Portland Flagship Festival in July, a Greater Portland Immigrant Welcome Center open house, the Preble Street Teen Center, and the Portland Public Teen Library. The latter two locations were selected with the goal of connecting film attendees to the action they saw on screen.

“A lot of the folks that go to those two places are asylum seekers and refugees. We’re trying to get them familiar with the court,” said Tijerina. “A lot of them ended up showing up at the court to play soccer and making friends and practice their English.”

The film received a warm reception across its showings. The MOFF Portland Flagship Festival’s jury awarded Tijerina the Emerging Maine Filmmaker Award. MOFF Director Nick Callanan said that the group is excited to see what Tijerina would do next.

“I mean, he just made some amazing creative decisions with cinematography and his editing choices, and it’s just got such a hopeful message,” said Callanan. “He’s got a bright future ahead of him. It’s awesome to see him just really coming (into) his own as a storyteller,” he said.

With support from a Maine Humanities Council grant and his Welcome Center workplace, Tijerina has been working to turn the short into a feature.

He plans to focus the full-length documentary on the lives of the young immigrants and refugees on the court and their journeys to Portland, as well as the long history of the Kennedy Park and East Bayside neighborhoods as a hub for immigrants in Maine. He aims to have the “Courts of Belonging” feature to be in festivals next summer and premiering in Portland then.

“How difficult it is for a young teenager to travel by boat from Africa to Latin America and walk all the way from Latin America to North America,” said Tijerina. “These stories are just incredible, incredibly moving.

“I really want to give a voice to them, and it just works out that I’m at the (Greater Portland) Immigrant Welcome Center and there’s just a lot of folks who’ve been really interested in supporting the project and taking it further with me,” he said.

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