“Do or die!” “Do it or die!” It is an often deadly “game”, played by young minors who have nothing left to lose. Migrants from the “Shadow Game” are fleeing violence and war in Sudan, Pakistan, Afghanistan… To realize their dream of a better life, they must cross unimaginable borders on the road to Europe. No matter the cost.
The Dutch directors Eefje Blankevoort and Els Van Driel tried to understand their “game” by also using the images shot by the young people during their journeys, to co-create a film from the point of view of young migrants. Interview at the International Documentary Festival (Fipadoc) in Biarritz.
RFI : Shadow Game, “ shadow game “, What is it about ?
Els Van Driel : It is an ironic term for crossing borders. It is a term that migrants and refugees use. It’s like a survival mechanism to survive this horrible journey, to be able to cross borders in order to find protection or asylum in Europe. For this, they call it a “game”. There are different levels in this game, and also different ways to play it. You can either walk, crossing the border on foot, or take a train, but of course not a normal train. You are traveling under a train, or between two carriages. You can also take the “taxi”. It is not a normal taxi, but a “taxi” in which hundreds of people are crammed. We heard this word “game” during the journey of these refugees. It is a game that is being played in the shadow of our Europe, on the other side of the border. We are on the sunny side and they are on the shadow side of our borders. For this the film is called Shadow Game.
You film yourself, but you also use in your film videos made by the young people themselves. What is special about your way of filming these young migrants arriving in Europe ?
For us, it was important to give a voice to the voiceless, to give a voice to children on the run. They move on their own, without their parents. They have no access to anything, no communication, no legal or medical aid, no school, no protection at all. We asked ourselves: what would happen if we told the story from their point of view? And these young people are part of a generation of storytellers. They have their smartphones, they put their stories on social media. We found out that they really wanted to document their journey, because they couldn’t believe how many terrifying flashbacks they faced during this horrific trip. For that we wanted to make this film together. It’s like a co-creation with these young people.
Here at Fipadoc, your film has been selected for the Impact Documentary category. What impact are you looking for with this film? ?
We would like all Europeans to see this film, because it is our Europe. And our Europe violates children’s rights on a massive scale. For us, it is very important that everyone knows about these violations of children’s rights. We want that to change, that we have safe passages for children to find protection in Europe. They are children fleeing war. They have the right to find protection. Today, they cannot even apply for asylum, because they are rejected, beaten and even tortured. All Europeans should see this film and our politicians should see it first, because they can change it.
One of the children in the film is from Sudan, Faiz, 17. What is his story ?
This boy, Faiz, is like a born leader. He fled from Darfur, Sudan, on the road to Libya. And we all know that Libya is hell. He was tortured there. He was sold into slavery several times before reaching Italy. And he was only 17. His big dream was to become president of Darfur. He therefore believed that he could receive an education in England that would enable him to develop and become president of Darfur. Now he is in France and has a status to possibly stay. He is fine and he will be magnificent. He will be a wonderful citizen.
► To read also: “China, the Uyghur drama”, an “impact documentary” at Fipadoc
► To read also: Côte d’Ivoire at Fipadoc: “Aya is the first avikam heroine of cinema”
► To read also: “New ideas” of Fipadoc 2022, the great documentary festival