No Man Is An IslandTim De Keersmaecker

Two young African refugees arrive in Lampedusa where the locals help them out. But having a future is about more than having a roof over your head. With sharp observations Tim De Keersmaeker shows the subtle nuances in the heated discourse on the assistance of refugees.

Omar is a 21-year-old refugee from Tunisia. Like many other refugees, he left his homeland in a rickety boat and stranded on the coast of Lampedusa. Omar is lucky enough to meet Doctor Bartolo, a local doctor who gives first aid to stranded refugees. He gives Omar a family, a home, and even a job as an interpreter at the shelter. During the same period, 16-year-old Adam from Ghana also reaches the island. He receives help from a hotel operator and works at the hotel as an assistant. He receives basic education but it is unclear how freely Adam can shape his own future. Because of his long workdays at the hotel, he barely spends any time with peers. His only social contact consists of a phone call home.

Every day that passes takes them further away from the life that lies behind them, and that they never want to return to. They know that they want to go beyond this island, but will they find the strength to start again somewhere else? "No Man is an Island” crystallizes the efforts of support and integration through two unique adoption stories. The quest for happiness of both the island residents and the newcomers creates nuances in the current discourse on the welcoming of refugees, in an in-depth manner. 



War & conflict Refugee crisis

Vertoond op editie(s) 2016
Screened at edition(s) 2016

Info

Directed by Tim De Keersmaecker
Belgium
80 min.
Akan, Arabic, Italian
Subtitles: English

Programme

Belgian selection

credits
Director

Tim De Keersmaecker

Producer

Emmy Oost

Production company

Cassette for Timescapes

Cinematography

Laurens De Geyter, Renaat Lambeets

Editing

Koen Timmerman

Music

Raphael Absolonne, Mathieu Vandekerckhove

Contact info
Bekijk Contact info
(en screener)
(beschikbaar vanaf 20.03)