Note: This program is part 1 of a 2 night screening that takes place on November 1st and November 5th.
November 1st:
Burn The Sea/Brûle la mer by Nathalie Nambot and Maki Berchache
[France, 2014, 35mm, color, sound, 75 min.]
November 5th:
And We Will Throw The Sea Behind You / Et Nous jetterons la mer derrière vous by Noémi Aubry, Jeanne Gomas, Clément Juillard, and Anouck Mangeat
[France, 2014, DCP, color, sound, 72 min.]
There is a tradition in many Middle Eastern countries to throw water behind the steps of one who is leaving home with a wish that she or he returns in good health. To throw the sea is many wishes, but what does it mean to burn it? Two feature-length films in the experimental-documentary genre have come out of France in the past year taking on the topic of immigration from the Middle East to Europe. An international crisis and daily news item, the situation is large, complex, and for those embarking on the journey, dangerous and intensely personal. Burn The Sea uses co-director Maki Berchache’s own experience leaving Tunisia after the 2011 Jasmine Revolution as an entry point for discussing the experience of other North African migrants, or harragas, who attempt to find refuge in Europe. In And We Will Throw The Sea Behind You, the collectively made work tells the intertwining stories of several migrants who travel from their homes in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Morocco to a Greece in crisis and the chaotic streets of Istanbul, Turkey. These so-called “buffer zones,” however, highlight the intricacies and realities of how European law and policies can further complicate and disrupt the lives of migrants.
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