Migration is a phenomenon that crosses us as humanity. History is cyclical and freedom of movement is a right, yet there are more and more obstacles than posibilities to exercise our right. In this first issue of documentaries on migration, we present you three movies from the Guidedoc's catalogue that reflect on borders, dignity and, in the midst of chaos, the cracks through which humanity sprouts.
CittáGiardino, by Gaia Formenti and Marco Piccarreda
There are some 15,000 unaccompanied foreign minors in Italy. A few of them are in CittáGiardino, "Garden City". The daily life of these young people is slow, in no man's land, with tedium and rest. Rest from what? It is the reality of thousands of African immigrants to Europe.
Mourners of nobody, are asleep or awake without there being much difference between these two states. What leads them to be there? The European dream, the idealization, the branded clothes, the economy.
But when they arrive they realise that it's not for everyone and that, and even on European soil, you can live on the margins.
My enemy, my brother, by Ann Shin
This is the moving and shocking story of Zaheb and Najah, two men who fought in the war between Iran and Iraq, each fighting on behalf of his own country. Zaheb, along with the Iranian army, and Najah, along with the Iraqi army, clashed in the Battle of Khorramsharhr.
Thus, this documentary is presented as an exquisite exercise of delving between the two qualities of the human being, the destructive and the luminous one. Although their nationalities were destined to be enemies, each of these men decided to save the life of the other in different times and ways.
Pure magic in the midst of the storm. This film also succeeds in defying the confines of reality, with long journeys and unexpected reunions that will give us back, in case we have lost, the faith in humanity.
El peso de la manta, by George Brereton, Aisha Doherty, Cynthia Parker, Clelia Goodchild, David Innes, Francesca Romana, James Phillip Royle, Leanne Hayman, Prunelle Mathet, Rebecca Lamich, Tom Garner, Toulla Mavromati, John English and Julie France
Every day hundreds of "manteros", as street vendors are called, inhabit the streets of Barcelona to make a living selling souvenir for tourists. The European dream has brought them to a city, a country and a continent where they are not recognised as human beings.
Their days are divided between trying to sell and, as if it were a hunting scene, running with the blanket that wraps their merchandise when the police arrive. Because of the constant violations of their human rights, they have organized and decided to create the Sindicato Popular de Vendedores Ambulantes (Popular Union of Street Vendors) that will allow them to raise their voices.
The weight of the blanket is also that of racism and injustice, and makes this documentary a powerful political weapon capable of echoing those voices that, although silenced, exist and will not remain silent.
Watch this and other great documentaries on Guidedoc