The Global Shorts Forum presented six short films at the SCAD Museum of Art on October 30, all encompassing the global refugee crisis. Each director ventured to capture the stories of those displaced in their country and the struggles they endured to find home. One cannot imagine what it must be like to wake up to uncertainty everyday, waiting on a war to end or waiting on the job market to open up, attempting to feed four children in a foreign land where the threats are just as high.
The narratives stretched from Lesbos, Greece to Malawi, Africa and beyond, each carrying with it a similar message: help one another. Waking up to the uncertainty of tomorrow, families impacted by the war in Syria flood to inflatable boats, piling in sixty people on a twelve-person carrier, most of them perishing into the sea. Volunteers take to the beaches of Lesbos, making sure to be the first responders, to ensure that the refugees are welcomed with a warm drink, a hot meal, medical supplies, toys for children, clothing and protection.
Director of “Lesbos,” Ludvik Ludviksson joined the volunteer efforts along with his sister, and mentioned that many Syrian women are abducted as soon as they make it to land, which is why volunteer efforts are important. In an unknown land, with different customs and different languages, women are more easily ripped away from their families and forced into human trafficking.
And the children left behind? What of their stories? Nate Hochstetler, director of “Haven,” takes us to Malawi, Africa, a country inundated with orphans because of parents losing their lives to AIDS and HIV. Smile Malawi Orphanage is the response to the growing number of children left behind with no parents or family to look after them. It is here where children gain the tools they need to be independent when they are ready to move forward into the world. Children who are welcomed into Smile Malawi regain what it is like to feel love, and they respond to their hardships with the message, “love will do.”
“To Breathe Free,” directed by David Barnhart, shows just how far love can go when one opens their heart to those in need. A family in Washington D.C. opens their home to a Syrian family fleeing the war in Homs. The mother of this American household mentions the common stereotypes refugees often face when attempting to enter into the U.S. and the ordeal they undergo to become citizens. “People coming into this country are the most heavily screened,” she mentions in the film. Refugees coming into the U.S. are processed and investigated through several agencies, including Homeland Security, CIA and the FBI.
Because of heavy screenings and lack of government support, many are not given the chance to find a home, and only become more displaced. Mostly children are left wandering about, never knowing what tomorrow might bring.
In Monica Santis’ “Hacia El Sol (Toward the Sun),” a 12 year old girl recounts the trauma of being ripped away from her family during their travels to the states. In this immigrant children’s shelter for unaccompanied minors, the little girl, like many Latin American families who are torn apart, has no certainty of where she will be next. Deportation is a lingering threat for the little girl, and she shares this same fear with another girl who said she was afraid to sleep near the window.
Each film shows a narrative that has not yet been explored in the entertainment industry. As Barnhart mentioned during a Q & A, “what sells in the mass entertainment industry is fear and the other.” There are seldom films that display this level of raw narrative, with the intention of moving us to help one another.If we can open our hearts to do that we can reduce the millions of people still wandering; we can help them find home.
Written by Jennie Rivera.
Jennie Rivera is a transfer writing student from New York City. She is in charge of assisting the Chief Copy Editor. When she is not advising writers and ensuring manuscripts are up to AP style practices, she is enjoying the quiet ambiance of Savannah’s art galleries and searching for more stories to write.
