Laragh Pittman & Hina Khan: Karvanserai

Short experimental film made by artists collective Art Nomads charting their creative journeys into the landscape of Ireland. Coming together, bringing cultural artefacts and fabricating their own selves into the land. 

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Kaveh Abbasian & Angie Varakis-Martin: Encounter

How can collective creative experiences help build a sense of belonging and community among multilingual migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers? How can such a project be ethically conducted? These were some of the questions that sparked the beginning of this collaborative documentary project, made by an all-migrant/refugee crew. In 2024, the theatre company, PROJEKT EUROPA, collaborated with the School of Arts of the University of Kent to host PROJEKT ENCOUNTER, a 20-week programme of workshops for asylum seekers, refugees, and first-generation migrants living in Kent, UK. This film is a self-reflexive account of the last three weeks of the project, including the last two workshops followed by the final performance. In its self-reflexivity, the film also tries to raise and address questions regarding the ethics of making such a film.

Opher Thomson: Abito di confini

A jacket hangs from a tree to the west, jeans hang from a tree to the east. The garments that decorate Italy's wildly different mountain borders are probably the only thing they have in common. Few have witnessed both. Those that have can perhaps understand the country in ways the rest of us can't. This is one of the most visited nations in the world, with 65 million international tourists expected in 2024, now exceeding the resident population for the first time. Neighbouring France surpasses even Italy, with over 100 million arriving. The vast ski resort that straddles the border between the two exemplifies this movement, with over 10 million passages recorded in a winter. Its lifts carry those with credit across the border, legs dangling free, ski passes rather than passports, so they can glide back down over the snow that's sprayed each night. Not all are welcome. A few try to cross the same border with their own legs, but they trudge through the snow, sinking into it, at risk of being pushed back by the police who hunt them. They climb higher and higher to avoid contact, often at night, hoping to one day find a place to stay. Many have already crossed the desolate ruin of the abandoned Karst mountains, and have seen glimpses of Trieste, Venice, Verona, Garda, Milan and Turin, some of the world's most desirable destinations – but in the end Italy was not their destination. Italy was no place for them. This film traces a humble journey across famous but unfamiliar lands, asking what such a perspective reveals about these dramatically changing landscapes. The juxtaposition of the two mountain ranges, abruptly connected by this precarious journey, creates for us a kind of prism that poses urgent questions about our parallel lives and collective values. It's often called the 'migrant route', but is it only those migrating that find themselves in unrecognisable places, or are we all in transit along the consumer route?

Michael Parzer & Max Leimstattner: We are artists! First thing

The ethnographic film “We Are Artists! First Thing” tells the story of three artists — working in fine arts, music, and theatre — who immigrated from Syria to Austria in recent years. The film highlights not only their unique artistic styles and approaches but also the challenges and opportunities they face as they navigate working conditions in a new country. It explores their struggles and efforts to gain a foothold in Vienna’s local art scenes, offering an intimate look at the intersection of (forced) migration, creativity, and social inclusion.

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Sam Liebmann: Voices from Ipswich

A participant-led documentary film where a group of teenagers and young men from Africa explore what it's like to arrive and settle as a refugee in the United Kingdom. With so much talk about migration in the media, this short documentary is told by those who've made the often life-risking journey from their homes in search of asylum.

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Stefania Kulaj & Julia Haveker & Sarah Achar Sacal: Blicke

Blicke (Glances) is a short documentary that explores the experiences of five refugee and migrant children in Vienna, aged 6 to 12. It offers a glimpse into their lives through their own eyes, revealing their hopes, feelings and dreams for the future. Their innocent, yet insightful views invite us to understand their unique perspective on life and reality.