On the border between East and West, Istanbul historically speaking is an intercontinental bridge and still one of the main places for migrants and refugees from West Africa and the Middle East to reside (temporarily or permanently). This documentary sheds light on the role of this metropolis in the current migration debate by focusing on its ‘call shops’, internet cafés and street vendors. The viewer eavesdrops on intimate and emotional conversations between ‘here’ and ‘there’ and follows the daily struggles, fears and future plans of some of the callers. All this in Turkey, where meanwhile a wave of protests and demonstrations is surging.
Powerful and multi-layered, this is a portrait of globalisation, beset with tensions and contrasts between the local and the international, activity and stagnation, hope and frustration, detachment and intimacy, travelling on and going back, and past, present and future.
Film details
- Country of production
- Canada
- Year
- 2015
- Festival edition
- IFFR 2017
- Length
- 98'
- Medium/Format
- -
