Refugees Are Welcome Here

"Open the borders," chant democratically-minded people in Berlin and frustrated refugees behind the barbed wire of makeshift camps. Encounters with empathic volunteers and clashes with repressive state forces and hostile ultra-right citizens are woven together in a crooked trajectory. The director focuses on the dramatic atmosphere of the unenviable presence and uncertain future of the refugees through direct immersion into emotionally tense events. Without hijacking events with commentary or standing in the position of a distant witness, the film allows the viewer to become a direct participant in the path to freedom through in-your-face camera work.

 

 

"When you're filming between ultra-right groups, the most important thing is to act as if you belong there and keep calm. I don’t take part in the discussion, I record their statements because they want me to, I never ask them questions. T. Rafa