Elsewhere
Documentary Film Project - Research & Development
A better place, a better future, a better life… are common dreams to most of us and life-goals we set ourselves in order to have a purpose, regardless of our individual motivations: war and security, poverty and greed, friendship and loneliness.
Our future is constantly evolving and our dreams struggle to keep up and fulfil it while dealing with the side-effects of a promise – a better tomorrow – that everyday becomes more fragile as we realise that our resources are limited, and our frustration for this elusive dream of elsewhere grows within us.
The movement of people is an ancient dynamic and migrations belong to the European past as well, although we often fail to look back and remember. A new farm, a chance, America, are all dreams which set us on a path of hope and adventure.
The fever for a new home launches rockets into space and, while faith for afterlife stands firm, A.I. and algorithms design new human interactions and project a version of our own selves into a virtual world, defining a new ideal personal identity. Today’s migrants risk their lives in pursuit of a new dream, hanging their hopes for survival to a thin thread. Meanwhile, the global community watches without empathy and is far from understanding these movements.
With these contemporary challenges as a dynamic background, the personal definition of home is the redline which connects all the characters – and all of us – and helps us define who we are and what is our purpose in life.
But where are we headed to now? And why are we constantly running away from the present, regardless our situation?
THE PROJECT
The project started its course as a multimedia research,
as a conversation.
A journey from the Middle East to the Atlantic, from refugee camps to cruise ships, from new European hikikomori to nomadism, will document various dreams and stories recounted by people encountered along the way. These will be developed into the film in the second phase of the project, allowing those who participate to actively shape the discussion. In this way a modern understanding of home will be co-authored by many people from a wide range of life-experiences, with on the background topics, such as: modern consumerism, religion, technology, environment, safety, homelessness and contemporary escapism.
COLLABORATIONS
As the film project is in its open research phase, we’re looking for concrete possibilities to explore environments relevant to the main topics and meet new people interested to take part in it. The discussion is open to activists and social workers, journalists, academics and researchers, foundations and nonprofits and, in general, any individual who may wish to contribute.
In the past years, we have been active in Europe, Middle East, Asia, Africa and South America, collaborating with NGOs involved in International Cooperation and youth projects. We understand the hectic and demanding work of nonprofits, and the discretion needed to care about identity and privacy of people. We welcome these collaborations because they allow us to enter responsibly in contact with sensitive environments, and be effective in our work.
Although Covid-19 restrictions make it difficult to plan strategies and logistic, we’re constantly monitoring the travel restrictions and are always ready to move and push production further on, in accordance with the national laws of each hosting country.
We want to thank dearly for the support so far received:
Fade In, ESoDoc, Un Ponte Per, Mostar Friedensprojekt e.V., Adonar, VolunTube and Federico Guarino, Rashed Al Tabshi, Opher Thomson, Sabina Kresič, Davor Sanvincenti, Sebastian Mayer, Luca Petrinka, Diego Cenetiempo, David Fumolo, Jovana Backovic, Studio Ai Chan♥.
