Directed by Ethiopian filmmaker Herrana Addisu and developed in partnership with Communities United for Status & Protection (CUSP), In the Same Light offers an intimate, human-centered portrait of Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders across the United States. Through quiet, observational storytelling — morning routines, work, family life, creative expression, and moments of reflection — the film reframes TPS holders not as outsiders or policy abstractions, but as essential members of the communities they help shape: workers, caregivers, artists, parents, and neighbors whose belonging is lived every day. The film arrives at a critical moment, as recent moves to terminate TPS protections have placed nearly 1.3 million people — from Afghanistan to Haiti, Venezuela to Ukraine — at risk of deportation to countries still experiencing the very crises that made return unsafe in the first place. In the Same Light is both a cinematic portrait and a storytelling intervention, inviting audiences to see TPS holders not through the lens of status, but as anyone else deserving of safety, freedom, and the right to thrive.
Directed by Herrana Addisu, Developed in partnership with Communities United for Status & Protection (CUSP)