(Paratiisi – Kolme matkaa tassa maailmassa), Elina Hirvonen / FIN, 2007
original version / Czech subtitles, 51 min
This engaging Finnish picture brings together in three parts fragments of human stories linked to the extensive migration of Africans to Europe. In the first section Tomatoes the camera follows Bakary, an economic migrant from Mali; he lives virtually on the streets in Spain, where he works on a tomato farm. These shots are accompanied by the words of Bakary's parents who we meet alongside relatives in the third part of the film, when the film's makers deliver a message from their son. The middle story Fence focuses on a young Senegalese whose attempted crossing of the Moroccan–Spanish border ended in failure. His group of detainees were taken and left deep in the desert. Several did not survive to see civilisation again, while those who did are forced to hide from the Moroccan authorities and police. This melancholy film features moving shots over a series of personal testimonies; it captures the resignation which has followed hopeful departure and the acceptance of the tough reality today.
