For many refugees a mobile phone is indispensable, if not a lifesaver. They use it to organise their travel, communicate with other refugees and their relatives back home, or to store memories of their lives before they started their journey. The documentary
#MyEscape brings together a number of accounts of refugees who have made their way to Germany from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, and Eritrea via different routes, using their mobile phones to record their journeys. The documentary joins the footage they filmed with their reports given retrospectively during extended interviews after their arrival in Germany. We learn about their reasons for leaving, the dangers and difficulties they encountered during their travels as well as about their first impressions when arriving in Germany. The film ends with a short overview of how the protagonists settled in and what kind of activities they were engaged in at the time, leaving open how their lives would develop thereafter.
Germany 2016, colour, 90 mins. With English subtitles.
Director: Elke Sasse.
The screening will be followed by a Q & A with der director Elke Sasse
hosted by Marta Welander, Founder, Refugee Rights Data Project (RRDP).
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