Welcome to the USA

Welcome to the USA

2019 · 95 min · ★ 1.0 · Drama

Aliya, a 36 year old Kazakh lesbian, has, for the first time in her life, tried to play the Green Card Lottery and won. Now she cannot decide whether to leave Kazakhstan or stay. On one hand, Aliya is tired of the stagnation, corruption, and dictatorship of the Kazakh society, she wants changes in her life. But on the other, she is afraid of uncertainty and to start all over again in a foreign country.

Directed by Assel Aushakimova · Written by Assel Aushakimova

Your Rating

Cast

Make it a double feature

3h 33m together

Welcome to the USA

Elisa & Marcela

A close match in mood and era.

More from Assel AushakimovaSee all →

Bikechess

Bikechess · 2024

MovieComedyDrama

Dina works as a journalist for the national television station. The stories she is asked to report on are becoming increasingly absurd and full of praise for the government. Her love life is limited to a few secret meetings with her married cameraman. Dina looks after her young sister, a lesbian activist, who regularly finds herself in trouble with the authorities.

Comrade Policeman

Comrade Policeman · 2021

Comrade Policeman

A journalist of the Qazaqstan state television channel has to make a report about the police image campaign.

Scaredy-cat

Scaredy-cat · 2026

Pay the Bill

In a Kazakh town, a 65-year-old woman is told by police that her daughter fled a bar bill. Investigating, she discovers her daughter dead and bruised at home, abandoned by her husband. Corruption plagues the police response. After a local vagrant shares video proof of the husband and a complicit officer beating her daughter, the helpless mother is forced by corrupt police to simply pay the outstanding bar bill.

More Like This

Elisa & Marcela

Elisa & Marcela · 2019

Elisa & Marcela

MovieDramaRomance

The film tells the true story of Elisa Sánchez Loriga and Marcela Gracia Ibeas, two women in 1901 Spain who fell deeply in love. To overcome societal and legal barriers to their relationship, Elisa assumes a male identity, enabling the pair to marry in secret. Their daring act makes them the first recorded same-sex couple to marry in Spain, but their love is tested as they face relentless persecution and sacrifice.

With Every Heartbeat

With Every Heartbeat · 2011

With Every Heartbeat

MovieRomanceDrama

After they meet at their parent's engagement party, Mia and Frida are intrigued by and attracted to one another, despite Mia's own upcoming engagement to Tim. Mia must decide whether to continue her life with Tim or to follow her heart with Frida.

The Ballad of Wallis Island

The Ballad of Wallis Island · 2025

The Ballad of Wallis Island

MovieComedyDrama

An eccentric lottery winner who lives alone on a remote island tries to make his fantasies come true by getting his favourite musicians to perform at his home.

Pariah

A Brooklyn teenager juggles conflicting identities and risks friendship, heartbreak, and family in a desperate search for sexual expression.

Bessie

MovieDramaMusic

The story of legendary blues performer, Bessie Smith, who rose to fame during the 1920s and '30s.

Rate this film

Your ratings make Midnight smarter