Cannes Short Film Corner - Fantassút / Rain on the Borders
Over 12,000 refugees from Syria, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and other countries were stuck for months in the Idomeni refugee camp on the Macedonian/Greek border. They lived in dismal conditions hoping for the borders to open, and to continue their journey through the Balkan route. This short documentary is a glimpse in their daily life in the camp.
Interview with Writer/Director Federica Foglia
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
I did not plan on making this film, I decided to travel to the refugee camp to volunteer for some weeks as I could simply not sit at home anymore and keep reading the horrible and devastating news of the refugee crisis. I needed to go there and do something, even a small thing. After several days in the camp I realized that what I was witnessing was too big not to bring back a testimony. So I used my small camera and filmed it all, without any crew or microphones.
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
Because everyone's existence is fragile. Today this is happening to them, tomorrow it could happen to us, so we need to open our eyes and minds. We can't afford the luxury of film as entertainment in these hectic times, we need to be involved and make sure history doesn't take the wrongest of turns.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
The refugee crisis is not just a small issue that is happening in one part of the world and has nothing to do with us. We are witnessing a massive migration, a huge change that will impact our socio-cultural identities for centuries to come. We need to be aware of who these people are and understand why they are migrating, we need to be tolerant and open to the inevitable changes.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
There was no script, as I said the idea of this documentary evolved while I was in the camp.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
Audiences have really embraced the documentary, the one thing that always comes up is that they had seen footage from the refugee camps in films or news but they had never seen a film that showed the human aspect of it all, and this for me is the biggest accomplishment. I've never wanted to misrepresent the refugees, I simply wanted to press play on my camera and let them take over with their stories, nothing in my film is staged or cut in certain way in montage. All is unfiltered.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
I know people have good souls, so the fact they embraced the film was not a surprise.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
I am hoping to keep the spotlight on the refugee crisis, I did not make this film for sales or distribution, nor I made it to make profit.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
It would be great if more media were involved - that could really amplify the message. Also I've managed to have the film selected in 20 film festivals around the globe, but unfortunately being there no budget for submissions I can't afford the submission fees of the bigger festivals, so if any film festival programmer wants to help spread the message... please get in touch.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
The audience should feel outraged that refugees’ basic human rights are not being respected. Refugees have the right to asylum. The majority of the refugees had a wonderful life that suddenly turned into a living hell. We all should feel much more than empathy; we should feel outrage. As contemporary philosopher Thomas Cristiano says, “It is a fundamental duty of the international community to help out with the refugee problem. This means that one must accept some risk. Morality is never costless or risk-free. But we do owe it to our fellow human beings.”
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Being European, I know that my continent was devastated by two world wars. Many of us became refugees. Some Polish refugees in World War II fled to Iran to seek safety. It seems a remote thought, but what if this happened in our Country? How would we want to be treated if we were the refugees? Would we want the world to help us or to think of us as a threat and build a wall to keep us out?
Would you like to add anything else?
I entered Idomeni with some preconceptions generated by the media. I discovered a reality that was much more intricate, more human, because of the dignity, the sense of pride and communion, the great strength, the ability of still being able to smile, the endless hope of the refugees, and above all, their generosity. Walking around the camp, I was given fresh fruit and so many flowers.
One day I was leaving the camp and I heard a little girl screaming, “My friend! My friend!” (That’s one of the few English expressions the children know and they use it all the time to attract the attention of the volunteers.) I thought, “I hope this little girl is not coming to ask me for food or cookies because I’ve given everything away and have nothing to give her.” As she approached me she said, “My friend, for you,” and she offered me a little wild daisy and ran off through the fields.
After leaving the camps, I went to visit the Parthenon in Athens for the first time. It felt surreal to be in the country known as the cradle of civilization and democracy; centuries later it has been transformed into a purgatory for lost souls.
What are the key creatives developing or working on now?
I'm working on a short film to be shot in Italy over the course of the summer, it is the story of a young mother with a 3 year old child and it has an all female cast and crew. I'm trying to collect a small amount of money for the post-production phase, so far all my films have been made for under 3,000 Euros !! I'm also developing my first feature film, the story of a refugee mother who is trying to cross Italy from south to north and gets stuck along the way in Naples, where she finds a new unexpected kind of "home".
Interview: May 2017
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We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series and music video. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
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Fantassút / Rain on the Borders
Over 12,000 refugees from Syria, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan and other countries were stuck for months in the Idomeni refugee camp on the Macedonian/Greek border. They lived in dismal conditions hoping for the borders to open, and to continue their journey through the Balkan route. This short documentary is a glimpse in their daily life in the camp.
Length: 15min
Director: Federica Foglia
Producer: Deepa Mehta
Writer: Federica Foglia
About the writer, director and producer:
Federica Foglia is an award-winning writer and director. She holds a degree in the History of Art, Theatre and Cinema from the University of Naples L'Orientale. Her short films Exit/Entrance (15) and Fantassút/Rain on the Borders (16) have screened at film festivals around the world, from Poland to Brazil.
Deepa Mehta is a transnational artist and a screenwriter, director, and producer most known for her Elements Trilogy, Fire (1996), Earth (1998), and Water (2005), which received an Oscar nomination. She also co-founded Hamilton-Mehta Productions, with her husband, producer David Hamilton in 1996
Key cast: Refugees from the Idomeni refugee camp.
Looking for (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists): film festival directors and journalists
Social media handles: #fantassut
Twitter: argila_films
Instagram: argila_films
Other: www.fantassut.com
Where can I see it in the next month?: You can catch it in Nettuno, Rome (Italy) at the Tracce Cinematografiche Film Fest on June 21/25 www.traccecinematografichefilmfest.it