Les Sauteurs – Those Who Jump
by Moritz Siebert, Estephan Wagner & Abou Bakar Sidibé
Denmark 2016, ’82 minutes
in the presence of Abou Bakar Sidibé with subsequent discussion
In northern Morocco lies the Spanish enclave of Melilla: Europe on African Land. On the mountain above live over a thousand hopeful African migrants, watching the land border, a fence system separating Morocco and Spain. Abou from Mali is one of them – the protagonist in front of the camera, as well as the person behind it. For over a year, he has ceaselessly persisted in attempting to jump the fence.
At the fence, they have to overcome the razor-wire, automatic pepper spray and brutal authorities. After every failed attempt, they return to Mount Gurugú, scouring for food in the nearby villages, trying to uphold some sort of order in the camp and building up their confidence again. Some give up and return home, others never return from the fence. Looking through the lens, Abou gradually finds expression and meaning in his situation. “When filming I feel that I exist”. But after 16 months on the mountain, Abou is brought close to a tragic accident at the fence. Returning to Mali is not an option for him, and he becomes more determined than ever to pursue his dream of a better life in Europe.
LES SAUTEURS is Abou’s portrayal of the human struggle for dignity and freedom on one of the World’s most militarized frontiers.
Guangzhou Dream Factory
by Christiane Badgley & Erica Marcus
USA 2016, ’66 minutes
in the presence of Christiane Badgley with subsequent discussion
Guangzhou, a.k.a. Canton, is southern China’s centuries-old trading port. Today the booming metropolis of 14 million is a mecca of mass consumption, its vast international trading centers crammed with every “Made in China” good imaginable. Every year more than half a million Africans travel to Guangzhou where they buy goods to sell back in Africa. Over time, some have chosen to stay, and for these Africans China looks like the new land of opportunity, a place where anything is possible. But is it?
Featuring a dynamic cast of men and women from Cameroon, Kenya, Nigeria and Uganda, GUANGZHOU DREAM FACTORY weaves the stories of Africans chasing alluring, yet elusive, “Made in China” dreams into a compelling critique of 21st century global capitalism. Following a filmmaker’s journey from Ghana to China and back to Africa, GUANGZHOU DREAM FACTORY provides a rare glimpse of African aspirations in an age of endless outsourcing.
The Bride
by Lütfi Ömer Akad
Turkey 1973, ’93 minutes
followed by a discussion with Cagan Duran
Lütfi Ö. Akad, a.k.a. the pioneer director of Turkish cinema, produced his magnum opus trilogy in the theme of migration in early 1970s. In this first film, Akad tells the story of a nine-person, respectable craftsman-family, who migrate to Istanbul from the small Anatolian city of Yozgat, and their life struggle in the greater city of Istanbul. Thanks to their diligence, Hacı İlyas family wishes to expand their business, and open a new grocery store in an upscale neighborhood of Istanbul. Through the family’s economic ambitions, the film asks greater questions about the concept of sacrifice in immigrant lives, and depicts the causes of fading human values of immigrants in relation to patriarchy, feudalism and greediness.