THEME EVENING: GOING The Mind Game

Who has to go? Who is allowed to come?

Ten years after the so-called “summer of migration” in 2015, the theme evening GOING focuses on experiences of flight. In the documentary “The Mind Game” a young Afghan shares his personal perspective on what it really means to walk 5,500 km and make your way to Europe. He documented his journey, which was much more than a “mind game” for him, with his cell phone camera and reflected on it years later.

“The Mind Game” co-directed by Dutch directors Eefje Blankevoort and Els van Driel with Sajid Khan Nasiri and awarded at festivals worldwide, tells the story of 15-year-old SK (Sajid Khan Nasiri)’s journey. It is a migration story that leads from Afghanistan via Iran, Turkey, and the Balkan route to Belgium. The young SK approaches his journey like a “game” in which he, as the “hero” tirelessly tries to advance level by level.

Two years and many obstacles later, he arrives in Belgium, where he is confronted with new challenges: the authorities’ mistrust towards unaccompanied minor refugees and the feeling of being alone in the end: alone with his experiences of flight and the great distance from home – psychological burdens that many refugees in Germany are still exposed to today.

The emotional and mental effects of refugee experiences still remain an underreported issue.

For many migrants, the routes to Europe are oftentimes not direct, but rather characterised by uncertainty and detours, dependence on smugglers, and often the arbitrariness of authorities. Solidarity and support from people encountered along the way are always crucial. Safe and regular entry into Europe is difficult – especially for those who most urgently need protection. One of the greatest political challenges remains to effectively protect refugees who have made their way to Europe and thus make a humane European asylum system a reality. In a discussion accompanying the film, we’ll explore what these challenges look like in politics and practice and what would make an effective difference for those affected.

The evening combines the film screening, discussion prompts from migration experts, and an exchange of knowledge and experience among the audience.

Thursday, October 30 6:00 pm
Delphi Lux Kino, Berlin

With support from

Movie-Website

WATCHLIST / FURTHER READING

After the movie / Learn more:

If you want to know more about the topics discussed during the evening, find here a selection of Migration Matters videos that may be of interest to you:

Informative Video (5min)

Young people share their reasons for migrating to Europe:

https://youtu.be/mjp6gBwBxTo?si=rpDGX1wmnTtpDRNH

Info Video (6:39min)

Young people: The reality of living as a migrant / Am I welcome here?

https://youtu.be/IJOQ6auoFVY?si=qxozz0nifnUIyrJK

Expert Video (7:36min)

Migration researcher Nassim Maid: Why do people migrate / Rethink root causes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DvqSBgLQdi0

Short Documentary (6:46min)

Migrant Lives in Pandemic Times: VaGa_Bon’s Story

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IgqEWjBtpiY

www.migrantlives.net

After the movie / Watch more:

Films with powerful migration stories that we recommend—you can find them on streaming platforms online:

Green Border

2023, Agnieszka Holland, Germany/France/Poland/Belgium

Feature Film, 147min

Set on the Polish-Belarusian border, the film follows refugees, activists, and border guards as their lives intertwine within Europe’s migration crisis. Through its intersecting narratives, it portrays the forest as both a physical barrier and a trope of moral bewilderment.

Critical Notes: Holland employs stark black-and-white cinematography to transform the border forest into an oppressive stage that conveys both the migrants’ suffering and the dehumanization perpetuated by border forces. The film disrupts the audience’s detachment by focusing on intimate moments of compassion amidst political brutality, confronting viewers with the human cost of geopolitical decisions.

Harraga – Those Who Burn Their Lives

2023, Benjamin Rost, Germany

Doc, 90min

The film follows five Moroccan teenagers who live in a cave beneath the lighthouse of Melilla, Spain’s North African enclave. Far from their parents, they attempt to board ships that will illegally take them to a better life.

Critical Notes: Through five years of observational documentary footage, Rost builds a lyrical yet urgent portrait of Moroccan youths creating a community in the shadows of Melilla, at Europe’s edge, where their nightly escape attempts become an act of resistance against political rejection. The aesthetic restraint – long takes, natural light, intimate framing due to trust built over years – invites empathy and offers a rare glimpse into liminal adolescence lived under the weight of burnt/erased identity.

Io Capitano

2023, Matteo Garrone, Italy/Belgium/France

Feature Film, 121min

The film traces the adventurous journey of Seydou and Moussa, two young men who leave Dakar to make their way to Europe. A contemporary Odyssey through the dangers of the desert, the horrors of the detention centers in Libya and the perils of the sea.

Critical Notes: The film is relevant for understanding migration as a lived experience through the hopeful yet harrowing eyes of teenagers, rather than European institutions. Its originality lies in Garrone’s blending of realist aesthetics and mythic imagery, which reframes migrants’ suffering not as spectacle nor as tragedy but as an epic of courage.

The Swimmers

2022, Sally El Hosaini, UK/USA

Docu-Fiction, 134min

Based on a true story, the film follows Syrian sisters Yusra and Sara Mardini as they escape the war, survive a dangerous sea crossing, and rebuild their lives through swimming in Germany.

Critical Notes: El Hosaini creates a powerful story of sisterhood and athletic ambition, linking personal achievements and hopes to the broader refugee crisis: the imagery of countless discarded lifejackets on the Greek shore serves as a vivid visual metaphor for the thousands of refugees who have undergone similar treks. Weaving sports film tropes with migration narratives o􀆯ers an accessible yet emotionally complex story for every audience.

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Film recommendations compiled by Migration Matters collaborator Raissa Baroni, doctoral candidate at the University of Turin, where she is conducting research on “Migrant Mediascapes: The Cinema of Migrations as a Medium for Intercultural Understanding in Italian and German Film heritage (2011–2026)”.