Released June 27th 2025

THE DELLS observes the clash between fantasy and reality faced by international student workers newly arrived in Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin – the self-described “Waterpark Capital of the World.” Coming from countries like Turkey, Romania, Jamaica, Thailand, and the Dominican Republic, these students land in the American Midwest via the State Department’s Summer Work Travel program. Issued temporary J-1 visas, they work low-paying jobs as lifeguards, housekeepers, and servers, living in dormitories tucked behind a glut of tourist attractions.

A film by Nellie Kluz
https://memory.is/the-dells

“A REMINDER THAT THE AMERICAN DREAM IS A FANTASY, USED TO CHARM BEYOND THE COUNTRY’S BORDERS”
Julia Escudero, - POP & SHOT

“A COUNTER-INTUITIVELY FUNNY ENSEMBLE OF PEOPLE (NOT LEAST THE FILMMAKER) FINDING HUMOR IN A DEFAULT HOPELESS PLACE. ”
Vadim Rizov, FILMMAKER MAGAZINE

Nellie Kluz - Director, Cinematographer, Editor

Nellie Kluz makes nonfiction films about collective rituals and the infrastructures that support them. She also works as a cinematographer and camera operator for others' projects, including the HBO show HOW TO WITH JOHN WILSON. Her films have screened at venues including Visions du Réel, Chicago Underground Film Festival, European Media Art Festival, International Film Festival Rotterdam, Maryland Film Festival, Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago, the UnionDocs Center for Documentary Art, and others. She received an MFA in Moving Image from the University of Illinois at Chicago, and was named one of Filmmaker Magazine's "25 Faces of Independent Film" for 2017. She has taught filmmaking at the California Institute of the Arts, the New School, and at the University of Iowa.