Midnight Traveler

DIRECTOR(S): Hassan Fazili   COUNTRIES: United States, United Kingdom, Qatar, Canada   YEAR: 2019   LANGUAGE(S): English, Afghan Persian   SUBTITLES: German   RUNNING TIME: 87 min

SECTION: International Forum 2019, Open Eyes 2019

SCREENINGS

Friday, 04.10., 5.15 pm, kinoeins
Tuesday, 08.10., 4.45 pm, kinoeins

SYNOPSIS

In 2015, after Hassan Fazili’s documentary PEACE aired on Afghan national television, the Taliban assassinated the film’s main subject and put a price on Hassan’s head. Hassan looked at his wife and his daughters, and he knew they had to flee their home. Over the course of their multi-year saga in search of safety, the family grasped onto the only means they had to assert control over their situation: their camera-phones.
Hassan and his wife Fatima are both filmmakers, and they are educating their daughters and encouraging them to be artists. The whole family shot this autobiographical film, which began when they sought and were rejected for refugee protection and follows them along the notorious Balkan smuggling route. As they experienced increasingly degrading circumstances, the family latched on to filmmaking as a way to not just survive, but retain their humanity.
MIDNIGHT TRAVELER is a gripping vérité story made by a family on the run. Their unique access and artistic vision provide an intimate portrait of a loving family and the myriad fellow travelers they meet on their odyssey.

HASSAN FAZILI

As a director, Hassan Fazili has created theatre productions, documentaries, short films and TV series in Afghanistan. His film Life Again! and his short films focus on the rights of women, children and people with disabilities in Afghanistan and have screened at international festivals. He was a location manager on Feo Aladag’s Inbetween Worlds which screened in Competition at the 2014 Berlinale. His TV documentary Peace in Afghanistan portrays the Taliban commander Mullah Tur Jan, who laid down his arms in favour of a peaceful life as a civilian.

FILMOGRAPHY

Life Again! (2009), Mr. Fazili’s Wife (2011), The House (2014), Peace in Afghanistan (2014), Midnight Traveler (2019)

SCRIPT: Emelie Mahdavian   PRODUCERS: Emelie Mahdavian, Su Kim   CAMERA: Fatima Hussaini, Hassan Fazili, Nargis Fazili, Zahra Fazili   EDITOR: Emelie Mahdavian   MUSIC: Gretchen Jude 

PRODUCTION: Old Chilly Pictures   WORLD SALES: Théo Lionel, Doc & Film International  

WEBSITE
https://www.midnighttravelerfilm.com/