THE DREAMERS AND I is a new film that intimately follows three immigrant entrepreneurs navigating the cutthroat world of the American startup. The stories unfold in an underground Silicon Valley “hacker house” over the course of a tumultuous 10-year period.
As they build their ventures, our DREAMERS are confronted by crushing self-doubt, looming financial collapse and stress – both in Silicon Valley and back home. Through it all, these young founders remain defiantly hopeful, believing that in this place, even failure is a step toward success.
THE DREAMERS AND I is an unflinching examination of the New American Dream and offers an intimate look into how innovative ideas are born, incubated, shattered, and revived.
THE DREAMERS AND I strips away the illusion of glamorous get rich quick entrepreneurship–instead offering an unvarnished, deeply human look at the struggle of trying to build something from nothing. This film doesn’t lionize entrepreneurship, but it does honor the resilience of those who pursue it.
In an era when immigration is politicized and increasingly restricted, we often forget that almost half of America’s billion-dollar startups have been founded by immigrants. THE DREAMERS AND I is a testament to the reality that Silicon Valley is not just an American success story. It’s a global one, powered by people who risk everything to build, to innovate, and to belong.
DREAMERS is creating space for advocacy and conversations reminding us all that immigrant founders aren’t just participants in the American innovation economy — they are often driving it.
Director/Producer/Cinematographer/Editor:
KENJI YAMAMOTO
Producer/Writer:
NANCY KELLY
The ITVS Diversity Development Fund
desJardins/Blachman Fund
Stephanie Anderson Pugash Fund
DocPitch Finalist/DocLands
Stevens-Smith Charitable Fund
Loveland Fund
World Premiere:
Cinequest Film Festival, March 15, 2025
Doclands Film Festival, May 3, 2025
Silicon Beach Film Festival, Sept. 4, 2025
United Nation Association Film Festival, Sept. 18, 2025
Queens WORLD Film Festival, Nov. 7, 2025