In collaboration with Scottish Refugee Council, the series offers a platform for discussion and awareness-raising around issues relating to asylum, detention, healthcare, housing and welfare – as well as aspects of the complex relationship between the refugee experience and the moving image. Check out the full programme here.

The series features:  

• The free-to-access screening of Revenir (2018) and a livestream masterclass with filmmakers David Fedele and Kumut Imesh. 
• Live discussions with local activists, academics and artists including Pinar Aksu, Ako Zada, and author and journalist, Daniel Trilling (Lights in the Distance, Exile and Refuge at the Borders of Europe, 2018).
• A film and resource playlist built around Scottish activist filmmaking, including work made by:
  • • • • • Asylum Seekers Housing Project (ASHP)
          • Camcorder Guerillas
          • Maryhill Integration Network
          • Chris McGill
          • Basharat Khan
          • Chris Leslie 
          • Myriam Rey
          • Plantation Productions

The programme is completely free to access via www.documentfilmfestival.org, from 22-28 June. 

Photo credit: Chris Leslie (2014)

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Revenir (2018) was the winner of the international Jury Prize at Document 2018 and has screened widely at festivals and events around the world, including at the European Parliament.

The masterclass will be moderated by Noe Mendelle, Director of Scottish Documentary Institute, and will look at the unique and controversial collaboration that forms the basis of the film, as well as broader questions about agency, ethics, and representing the migrant experience on film.

Synopsis:

Part road-trip, part memoir, part journalistic investigation, Revenir follows Kumut Imesh, a refugee from the Ivory Coast now living in France, as he returns to the African continent and attempts to retrace the same journey that he himself took when forced to flee civil war in his country … But this time with a camera in his hand.

Traveling alone, Kumut will be documenting his own journey; both as the main protagonist in front of the camera, as well as the person behind it, revealing the human struggle for freedom and dignity on one of the most dangerous migratory routes in the world.

A controversial film experiment, a courageous journey and a unique collaboration between filmmaker and refugee; which is not without consequences.’

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We hope this event inspires you to take action: consider donating to the Covid19 Refugee Support Fund.

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Supported by Film Hub Scotland, part of the BFI’s Film Audience Network, and funded by Screen Scotland and Lottery funding from the BFI. 

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