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The act of sharing stories is an act of great kindness. Storytelling is a timeless form of giving, offering everything we need to understand the world today. It is crucial for humans to communicate and has always been a way to welcome others in; it is a way for self and others to meet each other’s needs. The stories we exchange not only validate us, but also truly represent us in a way that data, statistics or passports cannot. Our individual identities become shared and communal through storytelling. This is because stories promote inclusivity rather than exclusivity; a story that aims to exclude will not succeed, as its intention is something entirely different.
Recently, the news in the UK highlights the cruel treatment of refugees in our country. If I am seeking asylum and living under the care of the Home Office, my death will likely go unnoticed by the Home Office. Also, if I am a homeless refugee in England, it is likely that I have been evicted from Home Office temporary housing.
The current divisive political discourse in this country does not address the true realities of individuals, such as a 16-year-old boy making a treacherous journey across thousands of miles of desert and sea, to reach the edge of a new continent. It also fails to capture the devastating experience of having everything taken away by war, climate change, political upheaval, or oppressive government policies targeting certain groups based on religion, ethnicity, or sexual/gender orientation. Politicians often manipulate and distort the term “refugee,” stripping it of its original meaning as an individual seeking safety and protection from danger, difficulty, or persecution. This dehumanization serves to turn individuals into mere pawns for political gain, as our own politicians prioritize weaponizing the refugee crisis for divisive purposes rather than truly addressing and resolving the pressing needs of millions of people who have been displaced due to poverty, violence, or natural disasters and are seeking assistance around the world.
These four latest movies cover a spectrum of themes, from pressing to grand, depicting the experiences of individuals whose existence is determined by events. Each narrative is delivered with meticulous attention, restoring depth to the characters and their respective backgrounds.
All of these movies have powerful narratives that serve as a condemnation of societal issues. Each one tells a hidden or overlooked story, challenging our perceptions of bravery, heroism, tragedy, and triumph against overwhelming adversity. Through their urgency, these films unveil the true story of not just our current era, but of humanity as a whole. – Ali Smith
I am the Captain, a film directed by Matteo Garrone.
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In July 2014, Fofana Amaro, a 15-year-old from West Africa, was coerced by human traffickers to navigate a migrant boat from Libya to Sicily with 250 individuals on board. Despite facing numerous challenges, Amaro successfully completed the journey and proudly declared himself as the captain when the Italian coastguard approached the vessel. However, he was soon arrested and charged with human trafficking.
Matteo Garrone, the Italian filmmaker behind the new movie Io Capitano, drew inspiration from the personal accounts of Amaro and two other migrants who braved the treacherous journey from Africa to Europe. In this two-hour film, the director sheds light on the overlooked and dangerous land journey that preceded the sea crossing for protagonists Seydou and Moussa, both from Senegal. It follows their challenging route as they travel by truck and on foot through the Sahara, a journey filled with exploitation, imprisonment, and even torture at the hands of private militias. Unfortunately, it is a system that unfairly paints migrants as villains simply for seeking a better life.
“I spoke with Garrone on the phone while he was in Los Angeles for a pre-Oscar promotion tour. He explained that his goal with the film was to shed light on the overlooked aspects of the migration process that are not portrayed in the media. He also shared that he aimed to bring a human element to the often-dehumanized statistics, such as the 50,000 individuals who have lost their lives while making the journey in the past decade.”
The lead roles in the movie are portrayed by Seydou Sarr and Moustapha Fall, both relatively new to the acting scene. Before filming in Morocco, neither of them had ever left Senegal. Sarr, known for his popular Afropop tunes on TikTok, also showcases his talents on the film’s soundtrack. Despite having no prior acting experience and almost not auditioning, he delivers a standout performance as the more susceptible character.
During filming, the director skillfully utilized the actors’ lack of experience by gradually revealing parts of the script each day. According to him, during most of the filming, the actors were unaware of the overall story or whether they would successfully reach Europe. However, through the process of taking each step and facing the adventure, they developed as actors.
Many of the individuals included in the movie, particularly those seen in the pivotal boat crossing scenes, were former migrants. Some of them even contributed to the screenplay and served as advisors during filming, adding to the film’s authenticity. According to Garrone, they even co-directed certain scenes and he was often just a listener and observer of their contributions.
The movie starts in Dakar, with Moussa convincing his cousin Seydou that their best chance at achieving their dream of becoming famous musicians is to go to Europe. They make a plan to escape from their small world of family and community and seek guidance from a local shaman to protect them on their journey. However, their lack of knowledge about the dangers they will face becomes apparent as they are forced onto a truck that recklessly drives through treacherous Saharan sand dunes. Despite the passengers’ warnings, the driver refuses to stop, causing one of them to fall off the overcrowded vehicle. As director Garrone explains, they begin their journey as innocent individuals, but soon realize that they are trapped in a perilous trip with no way of turning back.
The director, who is best known for his gritty Sicilian mafia crime thriller Gomorrah and a recent ambitious version of Pinocchio, tells me that Io Capitano combines elements of both films. He describes the new film as “a coming-of-age story that adheres to the classical Homeric structure and recounts the hero’s journey from innocence to hard-won experience”.
The stark juxtaposition of the harshness endured by the characters and the stunning moonlit desert and ocean views is notable and at times, startling. A bold fantasy sequence depicts Seydou, overcome with heartache, visualizing a scenario where he rescues a woman who was left to perish in the desert by guiding her ethereal body across the sand to safety. According to Garonne, when the film was shown in Dakar, the audience reacted with excited cheers and laughter.
“It demonstrates Seydou’s inner pain, while also emphasizing his youthful innocence and imagination. Despite his inner struggles, he maintains a childlike spirit. However, as he endures various challenges and experiences that cause him emotional pain, he will ultimately mature into a man.”
Garrone emphasizes that, despite being separated from his cousin who has been tortured by his captors, Seydou maintains his moral character throughout the story. He stays innocent in the face of brutality and exploitation, resembling the naive Pinocchio in his search for happiness only to realize the harsh reality of the world.
Io Capitano expertly combines harsh reality with thrilling exploits to tell a story that tackles one of the most polarizing issues of our era. Garonne’s vision is for the film to be shown in schools throughout Europe and Africa, as it has already been in Italy. “Through the characters of Seydou and Moussa, students can find people their own age with shared interests, a love for music, and similar concerns about their families. My hope is that this film can offer them a unique perspective on the ongoing tragedy, one that differs from the views of right-wing politicians and media outlets.”
Despite not receiving the Oscar for best international feature, Io Capitano did earn Garrone the Silver Lion for best director and Sarr the award for best young actor at the previous year’s Venice film festival. It is worth noting that Garrone’s and Sarr’s meeting with the pope, who organized a screening of the film at the Vatican shortly after its release in Italy, means the most to Garrone. He shares, “He presented it to the cardinals and invited us for an hour-long audience. He has consistently supported migrants and sees them as heroes, not individuals to be vilified.”
At the critical moment when Captain Seydou catches sight of land and shares his excitement with the passengers on his unstable and overcrowded vessel, the film Io Capitano comes to an uncertain end. This conclusion is both bitter and sweet, as it is clear that there will be more challenges and hardships ahead for Seydou, his cousin, and their desperate travelers. When asked about his motivation for creating this modern epic journey, director Garrone responds, “Personally, I believe in the importance of open borders, but with certain measures in place for control. We should offer aid to those who arrive, but also recognize and celebrate their heroic accomplishment, as depicted in the film.” This statement was made in an interview with Sean O’Hagan.
Cinemas in the United Kingdom and Ireland will show this film on April 5th.
The film Green Border, directed by Agnieszka Holland.
Reworded: Agnieszka Holland is a well-known expert on the most tragic moments in Europe’s history. The experienced filmmaker from Poland has previously addressed the Holocaust in films such as In Darkness, Europa Europa (which received an Oscar nomination), and Angry Harvest. She has also tackled the repressive communist era in Poland in To Kill a Priest, and the Holodomor famine in Ukraine in Mr Jones. However, her latest film, the impressive and intense Green Border, stands out as it delves into a dark period of history with a sense of urgency and tangible anger. Utilizing various perspectives and weaving together different storylines, Green Border sheds light on the ongoing refugee crisis in Europe through the lens of the border between Poland and Belarus.
In the past few years, vulnerable individuals seeking asylum became victims in a strategic conflict orchestrated by Belarusian leader Alexander Lukashenko and intensified by Poland’s government. Lukashenko purposely provoked Europe by spreading false information that promised a safe route into the continent, but upon arrival, refugees faced immense mistreatment and were continuously shuttled between border security forces of different nations. Tragically, some lost their lives at the hands of the authorities, while others disappeared in the hazardous forests.
During a radio interview after the premiere of the film at the Venice film festival, Holland stated that the conflict had become a testing ground for extreme violence. This was kept hidden from the public due to the closed nature of the zone, with no media, humanitarian organizations, or medical groups having access during the most brutal periods.
The decision was made by myself and my collaborators to convey the narrative in a fictional film, as making a documentary was not feasible. It was beyond our capabilities to give a platform to those individuals who had been silenced. Therefore, we had to construct a voice and avenue for both them and ourselves to convey our emotions, knowledge, and perspectives on the situation.
Holland believes that the current migrant crisis poses the greatest obstacle to Europe. She asserts that although a film alone cannot alter the course of history, it serves a critical purpose by humanizing migrants and refugees through visual representation. Without seeing their experiences, families, and aspirations, it is easier to stigmatize or dehumanize this vulnerable group.
Holland predicted that her film would cause controversy among certain groups in the Polish government and society due to its challenge of the officially controlled narrative of the Polish-Belarusian border situation. However, she did not expect the intense backlash she received upon the film’s release in Poland in September. In an interview with Screen International, she described it as a “tsunami of hate” and noted that it was organized and supported by high-ranking officials. The film was even compared to Nazi propaganda by the former Minister of Justice Zbigniew Ziobro, and Poland’s President Andrzej Duda joined in by denouncing the film’s audience as Nazi collaborators, despite not having watched it himself.
Holland is defiant: “It was before the elections in Poland, and the rightwing nationalistic government believed that they could make some points by attacking me and by creating the atmosphere of Poland being the fortress attacked by enemy forces. And me at the front of these forces. But they overdid it. The reaction of most people has been: ‘What are they talking about?’”
The government’s anger actually had an unexpected result: “It brought attention to the movie and also boosted our box office sales. A film of this nature needs support.” – Wendy Ide
On 21 June, cinemas in the UK and Ireland will be showing this film.
Drift, directed by Anthony Chen
Drift, the debut English film by director Anthony Chen from Singapore, sets itself apart from other refugee-focused dramas with its focused and intimate approach. Unlike others, the film avoids making any political statements. The main character, Jacqueline, portrayed brilliantly by British actress and singer Cynthia Erivo, longs for both solitude and sanctuary. As a well-educated woman from Liberia, she is left without a penny on a Greek tourist island after being forced to flee her home due to civil war. She is resistant to accepting help or forming connections with others, viewing human connection as a threat.
“I am not classified as a refugee,” Chen explains while speaking via Zoom from his current residence in Hong Kong. “However, there is a certain aspect of displacement that I strongly relate to and that I fear I will never fully understand.” Chen was born and raised in Singapore, but relocated to the United Kingdom to pursue a degree in film-making at the National Film and Television School. He has remained in the UK since then and gained recognition for his films set and filmed in Asia. Although his wife’s profession recently brought them to Hong Kong, Chen still considers London to be his home. “Throughout my life, I have always felt like an outsider searching for a sense of self. While analyzing my own work, I have come to realize that it consistently revolves around the themes of being an outsider, displacement, and the strong connections formed between strangers.”
Chen’s celebrated 2013 film, Ilo Ilo, which won him the Camera d’Or for best debut at Cannes, centred on a Filipino domestic worker settling in Singapore and integrating with a wealthy local family; his 2019 follow-up, Wet Season, on a Malaysian Chinese language teacher struggling to fit into Singaporean society. Though it takes him far from his roots, Chen doesn’t see the British/Greek-produced Drift as much of a departure. Upon reading Alexander Maksik’s source novel, A Marker to Measure Drift, he was drawn to Jacqueline’s plight, and her story only gnawed at him further as the project began development in the early stages of the pandemic.
“It was very cathartic, because we were all in lockdown and it felt like the end of the world – it felt like Jacqueline and the pandemic became the same thing, and the film became a starting point to heal our wounds. But since we’ve made the film, with what’s happening in Ukraine and Gaza, with so much displacement and so much hurt, to me it’s become more poignant than ever.”
The director is hesitant to promote the movie as solely about the refugee crisis. Rather, he hopes that audiences will see the compelling human narrative at its core. He expresses concern that people may avoid watching thought-provoking films, assuming they already have enough information from news articles. However, he believes that once viewers give the film a chance, they will recognize its value. – Guy Lodge
Cinemas in the UK and Ireland will be showing films on March 29th.
Opponent, directed by Milad Alami
Milad Alami, an Iranian-born filmmaker currently residing in Denmark, discusses the limbo experienced by refugees as they transition from their old lives to starting a new one. He aims to capture both the positive elements and challenges of this journey in his second feature film, Opponent. Alami emphasizes the importance of portraying the refugee experience from an internal perspective, highlighting the struggle of adapting to a new life and carrying past baggage with them.
Opponent’s main character, Iman, portrayed by Iranian-American actor Payman Maadi, known for his role in Asghar Farhadi’s A Separation, carries a heavy burden that ultimately leads him and his family to flee Iran. As a professional wrestler, Iman has suppressed his attraction to men, which is punishable by death in his home country. When his relationship with another wrestler is revealed, Iman must escape to Sweden. However, even in this new place, he struggles to come to terms with his identity as a gay man while still fulfilling his role as a husband and father. Director Alami explains that it was important to have a character who outwardly seemed free, but internally felt torn between different aspects of himself.
Although Alami was just six when he arrived in Sweden with his family at the end of the 1980s (they fled the country for political reasons: “My dad was politically involved and against the Iranian regime”), he drew on his memories of being an Iranian refugee when writing the screenplay.
Many parts of the movie are based on my personal experiences. I purposely chose to have the setting in the same place I arrived at in the late 1980s – the northern part of Sweden. The film portrays this region accurately – with heavy snowfall and a feeling of isolation. My memories from that time are mostly positive. I recall staying at a refugee center and enjoying myself by playing and making new friends while surrounded by snow. However, there was also a sense of apprehension and pressure regarding my parents’ uncertain situation. The main concern being whether we could stay in this place or not.
th this in mind
The purpose of the image, featuring actual refugees in secondary roles, is to present a nuanced and compassionate perspective on refugees rather than the simplistic political view that often prevails in news stories. “Changing oneself can be challenging. You may arrive in a place with all the necessary resources and freedoms on paper, but in reality, it can be much more difficult than anticipated. This is the intricacy that I hope the film conveys.” Keeping this in consideration,
On April 12, cinemas in UK and Ireland will be open.
Source: theguardian.com
