Movement | Cinema

“Mare Clausum – The Sea Watch vs Libyan Coast Guard Case” by Forensic Oceanography and Forensic Architecture, 2018
28 min. (English subtitles)

On 6 November 2017, the rescue NGO Sea Watch (SW) and a patrol vessel of the Libyan Coast Guard (LYCG) simultaneously directed themselves towards a migrants’ boat in distress, in international waters. The boat, which had departed from Tripoli a few hours earlier, carried 130 to 150 passengers. A confrontational rescue operation ensued, and while SW was eventually able to rescue 59 passengers and bring them to safety in Italy, at least 20 people died before or during these events, whereas, at the same time, 47 passengers were ultimately pulled back to Libya. Several of them faced grave human rights violations – including being detained, beaten, and sold to captors who in turn tortured them to get ransom from their families.



“The Crime of Rescue – The Iuventa Case” by Forensic Oceanography and Forensic Architecture, 2018
33 min. (English subtitles)

Since the end of 2016 and culminating in the summer of 2017, a growing campaign of delegitimization and criminalization has systematically targeted NGOs that are engaged in migrants’ search and rescue. On August 2, the ship “Iuventa,” managed by the German NGO “Jugend Rettet” (meaning “Youth Rescue”), was seized by the Italian judiciary under the suspicion of “assistance to illegal migration” and collusion with smugglers during three different rescue operations. The first took place on September 10, 2016, while the second and third took place on June 18, 2017. The seizure was decided only a few days after the refusal of this organization, among other NGOs, to sign a “code of conduct” that would dramatically limit their activities. This video offers a counter-investigation of the authorities’ version of these three episodes, as well a refutation of their accusations.

"Kwassa Kwassa" by Tuan Andrew Nguyen & SUPERFLEX, 2015
17 min. (English subtitles)

“Kwassa Kwassa” is a film work by SUPERFLEX documenting the construction of a boat on the island of Anjouan, in Comoros archipelago between Madagasgar and Mozambique. Although they are mostly used for fishing, boats like the one we see built in the film are also used for the transporting migrants to the neighboring island of Mayotte, a French oversea territory and the outermost region of the EU. The islands might be 70 km apart, but they are connected through a seemingly short, but life-threatening journey that has claimed the life of more than 10,000 men, women, and children. “Kwassa Kwassa” frames the boat as a contextual construction intended to carry migrants on a dangerous, politically complex journey. Carrying more than symbolic meaning as a vessel for dreams of reaching a better life on the other shore, the boat is also a labor-intensive work of craftsmanship; at the same time, it is the and the physical vehicle bearing human lives to safety – as the English translation of the title in the language of the Comoro Islands refers to “an unstable boat.”

“Wonderland” by Erkan Özgen, 2016
4 min. (No spoken language)

Thirteen-year-old Muhammad is deaf and mute. The film narrates the story of his escape from Syria, without any use of words: his powerful body language is the one that makes any other language possible. “I thought that those who have tongue and ears – but had made no attempt to use them – should be confronted with Muhammed’s body language,” says the director.

“The Land Between” by David Fedele, 2013
78 min. (Greek subtitles)

“The Land Between” offers an intimate insight into the hidden and desperate lives of Sub-Saharan African migrants living in the mountains of Northern Morocco. Most of them dream of the passage to Europe, but they first have to jump over a highly-militarised barrier on the border with Melilla, a Spanish enclave in the African continent.

“El Mar La Mar” by Joshua Bonnetta, J.P. Sniadecki, 2017
95 min. (English subtitles)

An immersive and enthralling journey through the Sonoran Desert on the Mexico–United States, “El Mar La Mar” weaves together harrowing oral histories from the area with hand-processed 16mm images of flora, fauna, and items left behind by travelers. Subjects speak of intense, mythic experiences in the desert: A man tells of a fifteen-foot-tall monster said to haunt the region, while a border patrolman spins a similarly bizarre tale of a man fighting a beast. The sonically rich soundtrack adds to the eerie atmosphere, as the call of birds and other nocturnal noises invisibly populate the austere landscape.

“Untitled” by Michael Glawogger, Monika Willi, 2017
105 min. (Greek subtitles)

“I want to give a view of the world that can only emerge by not pursuing any particular theme, by refraining from passing judgment, proceeding without aim. Drifting with no direction except for one’s own curiosity and intuition” (Michael Glawogger). More than two years after the sudden death of Michael Glawogger in April 2014, film editor Monika Willi realizes a film out of the film footage produced during 4 months and 19 days of shooting in the Balkans, Italy, Northwest and West Africa. A journey into the world to observe, listen, and experience; the eye attentive, courageous, and raw. Serendipity is the concept – not only in shooting but also in editing the film.

“I Love Kuduro” by Mário Patrocínio, 2014
96 min. (English subtitles)

Kuduro (literally meaning “hard arse”) is an urban cultural movement that was born in Angola during the last decade of the Civil War. Created in discos and raves in downtown Luanda through a mixture of house and techno beats, and traditional Angolan rhythms, Kuduro spilled over from the center to the suburbs. It rapidly spread throughout Angola, through Africa and now all over the world. “I Love Kuduro” follows the stars that became idols stars of this urban phenomenon, which today influences scores of young Africans.

“Electro Chaabi” by Hind Meddeb, 2013
97 min. (English subtitles)

Against a backdrop of corruption and social segregation, youth in the slums of Cairo are dancing nights away to Electro Chaabi. Inspired by the down-and-dirty music played at street parties and weddings, the sound mixes a punk ethos with hip hop attitude and a furious cascade of electronic beats. If “Buena Vista Social Club” introduced the world to lost Cuban music, “Electro Chaabi” brings the furious, sweaty rhythms of downtown Cairo and the restless, revolutionary fervor of its youth to global ears.

“A Story of Sahel Sounds” by Florian Kläger, Markus Milcke, Tobias Adam, 2016
83 min. (English subtitles)

Christopher Kirkley’s project “Sahel Sounds” is a blog, record label, and platform to explore arts and music of the Sahel region through non-traditional ethnographical fieldwork. Shot on three continents, the film bridges cultural and geographical distances, but also celebrates musical performances of current artists from Niger, while leaving room to reflect on today’s role of ethnomusicology.

“The Invisible Hands” by Marina Gioti, Georges Salameh, 2017
97 min. (Greek and English subtitles)

Maverick underground American/ Lebanese musician and ethnomusicologist Alan Bishop (“Sun City Girls”, “Sublime Frequencies”), lands as a stranger in Cairo, soon after the 2011 uprisings and teams up with three young Egyptian musicians for the translation of his old songs into Arabic. Under Bishop’s mentorship, this unlikely collaboration transforms into a band, The Invisible Hands. Structured around fly-on-the-wall scenes, archival ghost apparitions, absurd cameos and poetic diary narrations by Bishop, and unfolding between the two critical elections, that marked the post “Arab Spring” period in Egypt, the film juxtaposes the tragicomedy of politics and art-making in the so-called periphery. With: Alan Bishop, Aya Hemeda, Cherif El Masri, and Adham Zidan.