‘We lost touch with empathy’: Iraqi Oscar entry exposes migrant tragedy on Europe’s doorstep
A timely and chilling thriller, “Europa” offers a vivid portrayal of the ordeal experienced by migrants desperate to enter Fortress Europe. Co-financed by the Iraqi and Italian culture ministries, among other supporters, it is the latest migrant-themed work by Rashid, whose father was forced to flee Saddam Hussein’s Iraq in the late ‘70s, taking the very Balkan Route that is the focus of his film.
“Europa” is informed by first-person accounts of migrants who undertook the perilous journey and extensive interviews with NGO workers, human rights lawyers and public officials. It follows a young Iraqi migrant named Kamal as he attempts to dodge brutal border guards and deadly migrant-hunters at the Bulgarian border with Turkey.
The film’s probing, handheld camera scours Kamal’s bruised and exhausted body with relentless close-ups as he runs, leaps, crawls and scurries up trees in a frantic race for survival. The young migrant is played with mesmerising intensity by Adam Ali, a British actor of Libyan origin with a slender build and a face from silent movies.
“Europa” has appeared at film festivals across Europe since its international premiere at the Directors’ Fortnight in Cannes. FRANCE 24 spoke to its director ahead of the film’s Arab premiere at the Red Sea International Film Festival in Jeddah next week and its release in Iraqi cinemas on December 10.
Your film has won critical acclaim at European festivals. How important was it to get the nod from Iraq too?
I’m extremely honoured to represent Iraq at the Oscars; it makes me feel welcomed and embraced by the country – and even more proud of my mixed heritage. I’ve experienced exile vicariously through my father’s experience; it has been more than forty years since he fled Iraq but it is somehow still part of our family life. Now I’m delighted to be doing something for the country, especially with “Europa”, which is a very culturally-fluid film, with support from both Europe and the Arab world.
We made “Europa” as a sort of release from our own fears about the growing xenophobia and racism in Europe, but also to speak about what is happening to entire generations of Arab youth, of Iraqi youth, particularly those born after the regime [of Saddam Hussein] was toppled, who have grown up in extremely difficult and unstable circumstances.
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The film has been embraced by cultural institutions and filmmakers in Iraq, both for its subject matter and approach; they appreciate its innovative nature. It speaks about Iraq’s youth in a new way, in a country where everybody knows someone who has fled. I believe the decision to support the film financially and choose it to represent the country at the Oscars (...) shows awareness of what is happening in Iraq and of the enormous need to build a better future for the country, especially for the young.
“Europa” is the first joint Italian-Iraqi-Kuwaiti production. How significant is the Kuwaiti involvement in this project?
I think most people who were old enough at the time remember very vividly experiencing or watching the Gulf War unfold. I’ve had the opportunity to visit Kuwait several times and found great friends and collaborators there (...). I think it’s very meaningful that 30 years after the war the two countries have a good, peaceful relationship of cooperation and are working together on a cultural endeavor such as this film.
“Europa” is now set for its Arab premiere after touring European festivals. How have audiences responded to your movie?
The most amazing experiences have come when screening the film for younger audiences, students especially. They engage with it in a way no other audience has: they are passionate about the character, the story and the style of the film. Their enthusiasm gave us a lot of energy, hope and some insights: it’s not true that teenagers have no interest in arthouse, “social” or “political” cinema, you just have to find a way to engage them. I feel that the choices behind this film – in terms of its immersive style, that is maybe reminiscent of some video games, in terms of rhythm, but also in terms of focusing on a young character who is just like them – speak to young audiences and make them eager to think and discuss.
Have the EU’s border standoff with Belarus and the latest migrant tragedy in the English Channel, off the coast of France, given added urgency to your film?
I think the film shows events that have a pressing relevance, regardless of which border they take place on. I came up with the concept of the film in 2016 and five years on the situation hasn’t changed. If anything, it’s even worse: it’s a humanitarian crisis of enormous proportions that will last for decades if it is only dealt with as an emergency. It’s a structural problem that most institutions don’t really want to fix.
We are all so used to hearing about it that it’s become normality; a lot of people scream for or against it, but it feels distant. We made “Europa” to try to shake people out of this, to make them experience how close it is and how random it is that these dramatic events are not happening to them. It’s just a stroke of luck that should not be taken for granted, Europe’s history teaches us that.
From Poland to England, calls and attempts by civilians to push back migrants have become increasingly common, while politicians routinely talk of suspending or rewriting international law to keep asylum seekers at bay. What does this say about our societies?
We have lost touch with the concept and the feeling of empathy, which I believe should be at the centre of any society. It’s a simple concept, which is why I think politicising the debate on immigration is the greatest gift to political forces based on populism – immigration shouldn’t be a political issue, it is a human issue and should be spoken about with realism and humanity.
It is shocking to watch news of what is happening on the Poland-Belarus border and in the English Channel, as much as it was shocking to watch images of Haitian migrants being chased by mounted Border Patrol near the Rio Grande, on the US-Mexico border. Of course it recalls moments from the film, these are desperate journeys of survival against nature and violent pushbacks and attacks; every day there are lives at high risk across borders. It is an inhumane and criminal treatment.
The tragic situation unfolding at Europe’s borders is referenced, documented and sometimes manipulated by a variety of actors, including journalists, activists and politicians. What is cinema’s role in portraying this crisis?
I think cinema can help give a different perspective, a more human point of view, giving viewers a taste of someone else’s experience. Our aim with “Europa” was to put the audience in the shoes of someone who’s trying to survive through a forest as he’s chased by migrant hunters and attacked by border police forces, and to give them the opportunity to ask themselves how such events sit with them. Cinema has reached a very mature time in its history, technically and artistically, it can have an impact on audiences and I believe there is a responsibility to use it for a purpose of human interest.
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