Help Crowdfund This Melbourne Filmmaker's Doco About a Refugee's Home Journey
Experience the dangerous trek across the Sahara Desert to Morocco, through seven countries and often in the hands of people smugglers.
Although headlines spout statistics and assumptions about refugees, it's rare that we get insight into an individual's experience. But Melbourne-born doco maker David Fedele is changing that. His 2014 film The Land Between took audiences into the world of asylum seekers living in the mountains of northern Morocco and risking death to enter the Spanish enclave of Melilla.
Now, he's collaborating with refugee Adama Konate to bring us a unique film, Clandestine Crossing. Konate, who lives in France, will be returning alone to his home country, the Ivory Coast, where he'll re-trace the journey he risked eleven years ago as an asylum seeker. This time, though, he'll be armed with a camera. So, through his eyes, we'll experience his dangerous flight across the Sahara Desert to Morocco, through seven countries and often in the hands of people smugglers. It's a path taken by thousands of asylum seekers every year.
"As far as I know, it's never been done before," Fedele said. "When most people leave their country, the last thing they're doing is thinking of making a film… Yet, here is a refugee prepare to take a risk. Why? Why is this so strong for him? He obviously feels strongly about the issues. It's also really interesting, because he wants to tell his own stories.
"Adama came up with this idea three years ago and hasn't been able to get it out of his head… Our intention is to start from a place of understanding and empathy. We want to film openly, to understand the reality of why people leave and the reality of the challenges the face."
To make Clandestine Crossing happen, Fedele and Konate are running a crowdfunding campaign via Indiegogo. Throw a few bucks their way to score a reward — from a digital download to a Skype chat with the directors.
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