Border between Bulgaria and Turkey: Kamal is a young Iraqi who is trying to enter Europe on foot, through the “Balkan route”. He is hunted by the Bulgarian police and the “Migrant Hunters”. Kamal has a passport in his backpack, some family photos, sheets with notes and phone numbers for when he arrives in Europe. Hoping this will happen.
The film won the Beatrice Sartori Award – Independent Critics’ Award at Cannes in the 2021 Quinzaine des Realisateurs.
Haider Rashid was born in Florence in 1985 to an Iraqi father and an Italian mother. His work often deals with the theme of identity, focusing on migration and second generations. With Europa, he confirms this personal research.
Director’s note
The idea for the film was born from reading about the real-life experiences of migrants crossing the border between Turkey and Bulgaria and the conversations that followed with various people. Bulgaria is the country my father went to when he fled Iraq in 1978 for Europe. Although his journey was different from the one the protagonist of the film undertakes, somehow it felt even more right to tell this story.
The film will be presented by Jacopo Storni, journalist and writer, in dialogue with director Haider Rashid.
Free entry.