Road Blocks

That Which Once Was(en)

In 2032 an eight-year old boy, displaced by global warming, fends for himself as an environmental refugee in a hostile northern metropolis. Haunted by memories of flooding that left him homeless and orphaned, the boy forms an unexpected friendship with an Inuk ice carver who helps him confront his past.

Secret Places(en)

Young girls, soon to be women, sharing everything...except their secret places.

Broken English(en)

Ivan is the fierce patriarch of a family of Croatian refugees living in Auckland during the Yugoslav wars. Nina is his daughter, ready to live on her own, despite his angry objections. Eddie is the Maori she takes as her lover. Nina works at the restaurant where Eddie cooks. For a price, she agrees to marry another restaurant employee, a Chinese man, so that he can establish permanent residency. The money gives her the independence she needs to leave her parents' house and move in with Eddie. Complications arise when Eddie realizes the depth of her father's fury and the strength of Nina's family ties.

Press(tr)

The story of a Kurdish newspaper whose journalists are under the constant threat of being abducted and killed by the state security forces.

When I Saw You(ar)

Tarek and his mother Ghaydaa number among the tens of thousands of refugees crossing the border from Palestine, having been separated from Tarek's father amidst the chaos of the Six Day War. They ultimately settle at the Harir refugee camp, a makeshift home for a new generation displaced by conflict. Tarek dreams of being reunited with his father, and struggles to adapt to a new life far away from all he previously knew.

Before Midnight(en)

It has been nine years since we last met Jesse and Celine, the French-American couple who once met on a train in Vienna. They now live in Paris with twin daughters but have spent a summer in Greece at the invitation of an author colleague of Jesse's. When the vacation is over and Jesse must send his teenage son off to the States, he begins to question his life decisions, and his relationship with Celine is at risk.

Knifer(el)

After his father death, Nikos moves from Ptolemaida to Athens. His uncle offers him food and shelter while he starts taking care of his dogs. Alone in an isolated suburb, he's wearing down into his misery routine, till the moment his relationship with his aunt changes everything.

Implosion(de)

Seventeen-year-old Thomas and his father Niels spend their summer holidays at the Spanish coast. But their father and son time out takes a turn when a boat with African refugees sinks close to their hotel. One of them is 20-year-old Djamile. On a motorbike tour Thomas runs into Djamile and quickly decides to hide her from the Spanish authorities and the smugglers who brought her to Europe. When Niels and Angelica, Thomas’ teacher and his father’s love affair, learn about Thomas’ secret the situation is getting even more explosive. Niels does not support his son’s plans at all. Naive but passionate Thomas struggles to find a way to save Djamile. Deeper and deeper, he explores an unknown world of desperation, hope, greed, violence, betrayal, sorrow and... love.

Bliss(de)

Two young people in Berlin, a refugee and a homeless punk, form a relationship.

Nowhere Home(no)

In 2009 the Norwegian government introduced several measures to restrict immigration. One of the measures was to provide unaccompanied asylum seeking children temporary residence permits. They should be returned to their country of origin when they turn 18. In Norway child welfare custody of their children without close caregivers. This does not apply to unaccompanied asylum-seeking children between 15 and 18 years.

Hotel Meina(it)

How will the Germans react to the armistice of the 8th of September 1943, due to which Italy betrays them and sides with the allied forces? This is the distressing questions that a group of 16 Italian - Greek Jews evacuated at The Meina Hotel ask themselves.

1988(ku)

In the winter of 1988, in the depths of the Iraq/Iran war, the border town of Halabja was attacked by chemical weapons with all its people and their different stories.

Educate Yourself My Son(el)

The most important political, post-military junta satire about the nation, the religion, the education, the family.

Color of the Ocean(de)

After years working as a border patrolman, José has developed a salty crust of cynicism about his work, which places him in a position to decide the fates of many. José's weary attitude is put to the test when he encounters Nathalie, a German tourist assisting a boatload of refugees she discovered landing on the Canary shores. One of those people, a Congolese man named Zola, is placed in an internment camp. Much to the objections of her husband Paul, Nathalie tries to help him escape. Yet Zola and his son Mamadou eventually find themselves in yet another precarious situation, in which they are dependent on nefarious smugglers.

Santa Fe(de)

After arriving in 1940 New York, Freddy struggles to find work. His world of refugee acquaintances includes the depressed daughter of a poet/delicatessen owner, an aging surgeon who cannot find work, and a lovable charlatan photographer.

Welcome in Vienna(de)

Freddy, a Viennese Jew who emigrated to New York after Hitler's invasion, and Adler, a left-wing intellectual originally from Berlin, return to Austria in 1944 as soldiers in the U.S. Army. Freddy falls in love with the daughter of a Nazi, and Adler attempts to go over to the Communist Zone. But with the advent of the Cold War and continuing anti-semitism, the idealism of both characters is shattered as they find themselves surrounded by cynicism, opportunism, and universal self-deception.

Ayaan(en)

An escaped asylum seeker encounters an Aboriginal man on a remote Australian beach. She must decide whether to trust him or  journey on alone.

The New World(nl)

Mirte is a cleaner in the reception centre for asylum seekers at the airport. She tries to forget her past through routine. When the charismatic West African Luc is brought in, Mirte seems to get a grip on her life again. A film about loss, fleeing and love from an unexpected corner.

What Did You Do in the War, Thanassi?(el)

A wild tale of mistaken identity set during the Nazi occupation of Greece and starring the great Thanasis Vengos. Thanasis is called upon, during the Occupation, to testify at the trial of a tavern owner accused of serving cat meat to his customers. He too is accused of perjury and imprisoned with some resistance fighters. The resistance fighters escape, but Thanasis remains in his cell. He is accused of being Ivan, the notorious ringleader of certain revolutionaries.

Opération Turquoise(fr)