Synopsis
In Athens, Amir, an Iranian immigrant, has a modest flat which has become a place of transit for migrants who, just like him, chose to leave their country. But Greece is only a stopover, all of them hoping to reach other Western countries. They find themselves stuck at Amir’s place, waiting for ID documents, contacts and the smuggler to whom they might entrust their destiny…
A word from Tënk
“Three years ago, my cousin got stuck in Greece with other migrants. At the time, he hadn’t made up his mind whether or not to give up and go back to Iran. At the time, he was still alive.”
In this chronicle of daily life where hope is slowly suffocated by waiting, Mohsen, the filmmaker’s cousin, along with four other men, one woman, and a teenager, live in a state of suspended animation. They left their country of origin and everything behind them, looking for a new life, an elsewhere-better-than-this. They stop to rest in a dark and ancient Athenian cave transformed into an apartment, their solidarity shelter. The sun that barely makes it past the foyer reveals the same shadows of despair, day after day. Even though the filmmaker takes an ontological approach to immigration, placing human lives in the center of his work, capturing the uncertainty, fear and anxiety of these clandestine migrants, he also applies just as much attention and respect to capturing their laughter, understanding and tenderness. Above all else, it’s this humanity that he’s interested in showing us.
This is not the Greece that we dream of as a tourist destination. Neither homeland nor heritage, it’s a layover, a deserted non-place where lost souls meet in their search for new exits. And, if the film is to believed, it’s the only real territory to consider these forgotten lives.
Nadine Gomez
Filmmaker
