When talking about migration, too often we forget that behind numbers and statistics we have human beings. Reporting the focus on humanity is the first step to start solving the current refugee crisis.
Now, living as a refugee can be a struggle. It’s hard to imagine being forced to flee your country in order to escape to safety. They feel vulnerable, powerless and often invisible. But, through cinema, we can find empathy and understanding of those 25.4 million refugees around the world.
Here’s a list of the top 5 great movies and documentaries that need to be on our watchlist to help us understand what refugees are going through.
1. Human Flow (2017)
Directed by Ai Weiwei, the film presents the problem in a globalised context. Highlighting 40 refugee camps in 23 countries, Human Flow shows detailed and heartbreaking exploration into the global refugee crisis. The Chinese artist aims to draw attention to the refugees’ plight and generate compassion for them.
2. Fire At Sea (2016)
The winner of the Golden Bear depicted the fate of refugees fleeing across the Mediterranean to Europe. The director spent months living on the Mediterranean island, capturing its history, culture and the current everyday reality of its 6,000-strong local population as hundreds of migrants land on its shores on a weekly basis. The resulting documentary focuses on 12-year-old Samuele, a local boy who loves to hunt with his slingshot and spend time on land even though he hails from a culture steeped in the sea.
3. Salam Neighbor (2015)
Salam Neighbor provides an intimate look at the world’s most dire humanitarian crisis. Two American filmmakers, Zach Ingrasci and Chris Temple, fully embed themselves in a Syrian refugee camp. They head to the edge of war, just seven miles from the Syrian border, to live among 85,000 uprooted refugees in Jordan’s Za’atari camp.
4. After Spring (2016)
After Spring is a feature documentary that focuses on the Syrian refugee crisis. With the Syrian conflict entering its sixth year, millions of people continue to be displaced. This is the story of what happens next. By following two refugee families in transition and aid workers fighting to keep the camp running, viewers will experience what it is like to live in Zaatari, the largest camp for Syrian refugees. With no end in sight for the conflict or this refugee crisis, everyone must decide if they can rebuild their lives in a place that was never meant to be permanent.
5. The Resettled (2016)
The documentary is calling the attention to the international refugee crisis. It presents the dramatic stories of refugees who have resettled in the USA, and the challenges they continue to face daily. The Resettled forces the viewer to question: How willing are we to put out the welcome mat for foreigners from a distant land?