Agents of Concern: Images and Empathy

Gutiérrez Torres, I. (Participant)
Smets, K. (Participant)
Almenara Niebla, S. (Participant)

Activiteit: Participating in or organizing a festival/exhibition

Description

Presentation of a video essay composed of 6 short films resulting from the Reel Borders participatory filmmaking workshop in Ceuta, the Spanish-Moroccan border (Oct-Dec 2022)

Periode	16 nov 2023 → 28 jan 2024
Evenementstype	Exhibition
Locatie	Hasselt, Belgium
Mate van erkenning	International

Documenten & links

Unlike what media portrays of fortified borders and migration crises, "Views From the Border" focuses on Ceuta, a 14km Spanish North African exclave bordering Morocco, where many unheard voices and unseen people are confined. It is a 16-minute film essay collecting seven auto-ethnographies produced during a three-month participatory filmmaking workshop. The storytellers are thirteen cross-border women from Morocco who have lived in Ceuta for over 40 years as domestic workers. Lacking either a work contract or a residence permit, they have become undocumented migrants due to the reinforced Spanish-Moroccan border after the COVID-19 shutdown. "Views From the Border" incorporates visuals and voiceovers they created during the workshop and footage of Ceuta filmed between 1980 and 2015. Additionally, it includes testimonies from the women prompted by cineforum events where films were used to discuss their border-related experiences. The stories of these women represent the around 800 cross-border workers trapped in Ceuta, hidden from the public eye. The film essay also highlights the images' humanity and empathy while celebrating the film's force for sharing stories in the search for justice and equality.