Ernesto Mahieux

Sicilian peasant Salvatore yearns for a better life, one he believes exists only in the fabled land known as America where carrots grow taller than men, rivers flow with milk and golden coins rain from the trees. He sells everything he owns to make the transAtlantic passage with his two sons and elderly mother. On the perilous steamship crossing, Salvatore meets a mysterious, worldly Englishwoman, Lucy (Charlotte Gainsbourg), and an unexpected romance unfolds. But neither Salvatore nor Lucy is prepared for the arrival at Ellis Island, where families are inspected, interrogated and split apart. They will have to bravely face their personal and collective dilemmas in order to become part of the American dream.

A struggling rural family in 1913 Sicily hears tales of a promised land called America - and so their journey begins, as they leave the countryside and board a ship bound for Ellis Island. A beautiful, dream-like tale from Italy.

At once epic and intimate, GOLDEN DOOR is the stunning romantic drama about two very different people yearning for a better life in America at the turn of the 20th century. Sacrificing everything, Salvatore Mancuso, an innocent Sicilian peasant, begins his transatlantic odyssey to the land of promise. During the perilous and grueling journey, he meets a beautiful and worldly Englishwoman, Lucy, and an unexpected romance blossoms. Looking forward to their new life together, neither is prepared for the realities of Ellis Island, where they'll stop at nothing to make it through the golden door into the America of their dreams.