Two films shown at the Visions du Réel film festival this year both feature the main protagonists in a state of transit.
Heart-warming scenes in “Calabria”
In the film Calabria by Pierre Francois Sauter, two undertakers in Lausanne are tasked with transporting a deceased man back to his home town in Calabria. The man was an immigrant from Italy, one of the many who came to Switzerland in the 1950s and ’60s looking for work. Like many from that time, they came for a short period but ending up staying in the country for the rest of their lives.
Photos above and below – courtesy Visions du Réel
The undertakers in question are themselves immigrants; José is of Portugese origin and Jovan is a Serbian Roma. The two make the road journey in the hearse with the deceased all the way from Vaud down to the toe of the country’s boot shaped peninsula. The camera follows them throughout the journey from inside the hearse. We hear their conversations, they discuss love, romance and the meaning of life, they teach each other phrases in their respective languages. Jovan, an extremely talented musician sings and plays the guitar, José recites poetry. They take it in turns to drive the long route down to Italy whilst remaining immaculately dressed at all times and keeping the dignity of their employer and respect for their “passenger”.
There are some wonderful heart-warming scenes in this film through their conversation. Most of the focus is inside the vehicle but occasionally the viewers get to see the changing scenery as they move further away from the snow and cold and nearer to the warmth of the Mediterranean. The two men break the journey to sleep and look for a hotel but their GPS directs them down narrow Italian streets and they get stuck, and end up having to manouevre the hearse in the dark. Once in the hotel, Jovan goes to his room, brings out his guitar and sings love songs, José lays on the bed in hie rooms and reads. When they finally arrive at their destination they hand over the deceased to the waiting family and take a short break to venture down to the sea.
Whilst in Calabria, José looks at the beautiful scenery around him and asks; “Why would anyone leave such a beautiful place?” The answer of course, was for work and for better opportunities and their Italian passenger it seems, found both in Switzerland.
This film has now been screened at the festival but is worth looking out for in the future if it appears on Swiss TV or in the cinema, however, the following film, Transit Zone ( review by Suzy Nelson-Pollard) will be screened on Friday the 22nd April at 14.30 as part of the “first steps” screenings at the Colombière Grande Salle. Tickets here.
Transit Zone – A touching short film about refugees and migrants in Calais
This short film, directed by Frederik Subei as part of his MA in Film Directing at the Edinburgh College of Art, follows some of the men stuck at the “Jungle” camp in Calais, attempting to cross to the UK to apply for asylum. Day-to-day life, living in abject squalor and perpetual mud, is a struggle for these men and families chasing the English dream. Their frustrations are shown, as well as their tender moments together, singing or sharing a pot of pasta. Some of the men open up, as to why they seek to reach the UK and how much they fear for their families back at home. One of the quotes that stuck out the most was from a young man from Sudan: that perhaps when we look at these guys living in the mud, we just see them as refugees, or as migrants, but that he had “a hundred things in his heart”. What a perfect way to express the dreams, hopes, frustrations, anger, sadness and desolation of each individual making a journey. This film is well worth viewing to witness the one of the worst slums of Europe where human rights have been annihilated, yet solidarity and friendship still reign.