timescapes - No Man is an Island

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No Man is an Island

Directed by Tim De Keersmaecker, co-written by Anna Luyten, 2015

Main Info

Creative documentary, Belgium
70', DCP, Dolby 5.1, Colour

Synopsis

Omar is a 21-year-old refugee from Tunisia. Like many other refugees, he left Tunisia in a wobbly boat during the Arab Spring in 2011, and he stranded on the coast of Lampedusa.
Despite the ongoing burden of the refugee crisis, both economical and psychological, the Lampedusiani do as much as they can to help the refugees. Omar was lucky to be received by the local medic who gives first care to the stranded refugees. Dr. Bartolo offers Omar a family, a home and a job as an interpreter in the local detention centre. At his turn, Omar now tries to make a difference for the refugees who, after a long and exhausting journey, finally manage to reach the promised land.
In the same period, 16-year-old Adam from Ghana also reaches the island. He is received by a hotel operator and works as a valet in the hotel. He gets the chance to learn how to write and calculate.
But the dreams of both boys reach further than the basic needs of shelter and food. On this island full of contradictions, the difficulty of integration becomes visible in the most painful way. Lampedusa was first the promised land, but turns out to be more and more of a prison in the Mediterranean Sea.
In “No Man is an Island”, the attempts at support and integration are crystallized in two unique adoption stories. The search for happiness of both the Lampedusiani and its newcomers nuances the current discussion on the reception of refugees in a profound way.

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Screening

Now available on DVD:
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Press

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Press Kit

Credits

Directed by Tim De Keersmaecker

Written by Tim De Keersmaecker & Anna Luyten

Produced by Emmy Oost - Cassette for timescapes

Coproduced by Samuel Feller - Magellan Films

With the support of the Flanders Audiovisual Fund, Flanders Image, CANVAS, MEDIA programme of the European Union, The Pascal Decroos Fund, The Tax Shelter of the Belgian federal government

Distributed by Dalton Distribution