Dreaming of Denmark is a documentary film by director Michael Graversen that investigates what happens to one of the many unaccompanied minor refugees who disappear in Europe. The film was released at the peak of the refugee crisis in Europe in 2015/16.
| Dreaming of Denmark | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Michael Graversen |
| Produced by | Lise Saxtrup |
| Distributed by | Autlook Filmsales |
Release date |
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Running time | 62 minutes |
| Country | Denmark |
Synopsis
editDirector Michael Graversen’s film investigates what happens to one of the many unaccompanied minor refugees who disappear in Europe after their asylum claim is rejected. Over the course of four years the director follows the faith of the young afghan Wasiullah from the careless days at the children's asylum centre in Denmark to the illegal life through Europe where Wasi ends up in a homeless existence in Italy. The dream of one day returning to Denmark is what keeps Wasi going until he breaks down in the end and loses his memory.[1]
Reception and impact
editDreaming of Denmark premiered at CPH:DOX and was nominated for a F:ACT Award.[2] It was broadcast in a primetime slot on Danish national TV DR1.[3]
After the release in Denmark the film hit the headlines in danish media and sparked debate about the conditions of the unaccompanied minor refugees in Denmark.[4][5][6] The director Michael Graversen has since regularly appeared in the public debate in Denmark advocating for the rights of young and child refugees [7][8] as well as traveling internationally with the film speaking about its subject to the press and participating in debate panels.[9]
Danish film magazine EKKO wrote in a review of the film: "What is at stake in the portrait, is the human consequences of a youth growing up as a shadow existence with nothing to cling on to than the hope to be let. Wasis Sisyphean existence is a profound input in the refugee debate and Dreaming of Denmark is something as rare as an important film.".[10]
The film has been selected to several international film festivals and won the Amnesty Award at Giffoni International Film Festival.[11] Huffington Post wrote after the Greek premiere at Thessaloniki Documentary Festival where the film was a part of a highlighted segment focusing on films about the refugees crisis: "My favorite was Michael Graversen’s Dreaming of Denmark, which directly puts you in the shoes of an Afghan teenager who, unable to get residency in Denmark and afraid to be deported, leaves Denmark with nothing on his back to find a new life in Italy".[12]
When the film was screened on the national Austrian broadcasting channel ORF it was followed by an hour long debate about human rights[13] and ABC News interviewed the director focusing on the plight of children seeking asylum.[14]
In 2016 the director was awarded the Salaam Film Prize 2016[15] for his work filming the unaccompanied minors in Denmark not only in Dreaming of Denmark but also in the predecessor No Man's Land (2013)[16] set before the refugee crisis.
Not all the reactions towards the film has been positive. After the TV broadcast in Denmark the director participated in a chat at the newspaper Ekstra Bladet's website. Some users took offence of the directors portrayal of a refugee. The broadcast was two days after one of the terrorist attacks in Paris and some users meant that the director had the blood of the victims on his hands making an emphatic film about a refugee as refugees could also be terrorists.[17]
Festivals and awards
edit- Amnesty Award, Giffoni International Film Festival[18]
- 2. prize Best Documentary, Giffoni International Film Festival [19]
- Lübeck, Nordische Filmtage [20]
- Japan Prize, International Educational Program Contest[21]
- Helsinki International Film Festival [22]
- Thessaloniki Documentary Festival [23]
- Bucharest One World, Romania [24]
- Document Human Rights Film Festival, Glasgow [25]
- Human Rights & Arts Film Festival, Melbourne [26]
- BUFF International Children's Film festival, Malmø [27]
- Human Rights Watch Film Festival, Amsterdam [28]
- Salaam Film Prize 2016 [29]
- CPH:DOX, F:ACT Award nominee [30]
References
edit- ^ "Drømmen om Danmark".
- ^ ""Dreaming of Denmark", CPH:DOX, 5 November 2015".
- ^ "Drømmen om Danmark - TV - DR".
- ^ "Uledsagede flygtningebørn udvises til hjemløshed".
- ^ "P1 Debat: Skal flygtningebørn sendes hjem, når de bliver 18 år - P1 - DR". Radio - DR.
- ^ "Filminstruktør om afslag til uledsagede flygtningebørn: Vi har et ansvar".
- ^ "Nedlæg børne-asylcentrene". 4 August 2016.
- ^ "De lever i skyggerne og bliver aldrig en del af samfundet". 7 April 2016.
- ^ "18th TDF: Press conference - Nanfu Wang (Hooligan Sparrow), Sophia Luvara (Inside the Chinese Closet) and Michael Graversen (Dreaming of Denmark)".
- ^ "Drømmen om Danmark".
- ^ "Double success of Dreaming of Denmark: Amnesty International Award and the second prize at Giffoni International Film Festival - DOK.Incubator". dokincubator.net.
- ^ Badt, Karin (1 April 2016). "The Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival: From Janis Joplin and Bjork to Refugees from Syria".
- ^ ""kreuz und quer" am 15. Dezember: "Dänischer Alptraum – Flüchtlinge in der Warteschleife"".
- ^ "Documentary highlights plight of children seeking asylum". 7 May 2016.
- ^ "Salaams Filmpris 2016 - Salaam Film & Dialog". 13 September 2016. Archived from the original on 2 April 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
- ^ "Ingenmandsland".
- ^ "Lige nu: Live-chat med instruktøren bag 'Drømmen om Danmark'".
- ^ "Omdiskuteret film vinder Amnesty-pris".
- ^ "Giffoni Film Festival: The winners of the 46th edition". Cineuropa - the best of european cinema.
- ^ "Dreaming of Denmark – Movie details – Nordische Filmtage Lübeck". www.luebeck.de.
- ^ "JAPAN PRIZE International Contest For Educational Media". www.nhk.or.jp.
- ^ "Dreaming of Denmark - 30th Rakkautta & Anarkiaa". Archived from the original on 5 February 2017. Retrieved 5 February 2017.
- ^ "Thessaloniki doc fest tunes in to refugee crisis, Harry van Versendaal - Kathimerini".
- ^ "Dreaming of Denmark".
- ^ "Dreaming of Denmark - Document Film Festival".
- ^ "Dreaming of Denmark - Human Rights Arts & Film Festival".
- ^ "DREAMING OF DENMARK - BUFF Malmö".[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Dreaming of Denmark - Human Rights Watch Film Festival". ff.hrw.org.
- ^ "Salaams Filmpris 2016 - Salaam Film & Dialog". 13 September 2016.
- ^ "Programme 2015".