Summer often lends itself to lighter cultural fare – think beach reads and blockbuster sequels – but that didn’t stop a sizable crowd from stopping by the Renaissance Dupont Circle July 20 for a special showing of Roy Germano’s documentary “The Other Side of Immigration.”

The film – which had its East Coast premiere at the 2009 Politics on Film Festival, where it won the festival’s Founder’s Award – explores the immigration issue from the vantage point of rural Mexico, which has seen entire villages of working-age men cross the border to work in the United States.

The screening was the second in the Renaissance Dupont’s Summer Screening Series, which features a different area festival each Tuesday throughout July and August.

Starting from this unique perspective, Germano’s film covers a lot of ground in 50 minutes, systematically looking at a number of issues via insightful interviews with migrants, their families, activists and government officials. The film considers the effect the North American Free Trade Agreement had on Mexican agriculture and employment opportunities, the impact remittances have on the rural Mexican economy and the ramifications the migration has on families.

Speaking after the screening, Germano said he first became interested in immigration after getting to know the largely immigrant staff at a Chicago restaurant where he was working. He later went to graduate school at the University of Texas-Austin and did fieldwork in Mexico funded by the National Science Foundation – work that eventually led him to want to make the film.

During an audience Q-&-A, Germano offered his thoughts on possible ways to deal with illegal immigration in the U.S.

“If people are going to come [to the United States] anyway . . . we might as well provide them with work visas,” Germano said. A work visa program would eliminate dangerous border crossings and could cut down on illegal immigration, as many migrants stay in the United States for many years because of the hazard and expense of traversing the border, he added.

Further, Germano points to little-known social programs in Mexico that facilitate entrepreneurship, giving young people a reason to stay in their hometowns and spurring economic development. “They’re excited about investing in their communities,” he said.

Since its premiere at the 2009 festival, Germano has tweaked the film and has plans for a DVD release this fall. And he told the audience he has more to say on the topic of immigration – in fact, he hopes to soon begin raising money for a second film on broader immigration issues.

2009 Festival selection Neshoba recently signed a distribution deal with First Run Features. Now titled NESHOBA: The Price of Freedom, the documentary tells the story of a Mississippi town still divided about the meaning of justice, 40 years after the murders of civil rights workers James Chaney, Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner. While their killers continued to live and prosper, most townspeople remained silent, as if the murders never happened. The film takes an unflinching look at ordinary citizens struggling to find peace with their town’s violent, racist past. In addition to being an official selection at Politics on Film, Neshoba has won numerous awards including Best Documentary at the Boston Film Festival and Best Political Documentary at the New York Independent Film Festival. The film opens in theaters in New York City on August 13, 2010 at the Village Cinema and in Los Angeles on September 10, 2010 at the Lammele Music Hall.