Flee by Jonas Poher Rasmussen | The touching journey of a young Afghan told in an animated documentary

At 15, when Jonas Poher Rasmussen befriended an Afghan teenager, he had no idea of ​​the horrors he had endured. The Danish filmmaker had no idea that a quarter of a century later he would shoot an animated documentary about his friend’s journey. He also couldn’t foresee that his film Flee would be selected at Cannes, would win the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, in addition to representing Denmark for the Oscar for best international film.

Samuel Larochelle
Special collaboration

Six years ago, the man who inspired the character of Amin in the documentary told his story to the director: his childhood in Kabul, the capture of his father at the hands of the mujahedin, the flight with his relatives in Russia, the daily life of illegal immigrants in Moscow, the horrifying journey of his journeys with human traffickers, the serial lies to survive and the fear that never left him.

A journey he had never told anyone, not even his lover, before opening up to his old friend. “I think he told me about it because we’ve known each other for 25 years,” explains Jonas Poher Rasmussen in a videoconference from Copenhagen.

In the mode of confidences, the filmmaker has shown listening and neutrality. “I was touched to see how much his story affected him in all areas of his life and how afraid he was still of being exposed, but I chose not to show my emotions. Above all, he didn’t want to be seen as a victim or to arouse pity. ”

The connivance that binds them has allowed them to go well beyond the refugee stories that make the headlines. “He would tell me about the tender moments, the laughter and all those things that you don’t see when you focus on the horrors of refugees. As we were discussing with friends, I had access to nuances that we never hear. ”

It is also his posture of friend that gave him the legitimacy to tell this story.

Nevertheless, the creator was personally touched by this reality, since his grandmother, born a refugee, was herself forced to leave her country and take a journey similar to that of her friend. “My discussions with him prompted me to discuss the situation more with my mother. It was something we didn’t really talk about, like a family trauma, but the story lay within me somewhere. ”

The power of animation

While the refugee crisis of 2015 exacerbated the need to tell this man’s story, it was a workshop on animated documentaries that made him understand how to tell it. “Animation gives the possibility of revitalizing the past in a simpler way, rather than recreating Kabul or the Afghanistan of the 1980s in real life shots. ”

Jonas Poher Rasmussen also believes that moviegoers are more open-minded in front of an animated film. “People have been so exposed to these dramatic stories that many cannot take more of them and block the information. With animation, they don’t need to identify with a human face, so they become more engaged. They can watch and really listen to the story. ”

Throughout the film, we hear the discussion between the two friends. “I invited her to lie down with her eyes closed and speak in the present tense to create a greater presence in her voice. It made him feel comfortable telling his story. He also really liked the fact that the film was animated. He liked the idea of ​​remaining anonymous. ”

By the greatest of luck, the young man of Afghan origin told the story of his home dispossession, while he was looking for a property in parallel with his boyfriend, who has since become her husband. “None of that was planned,” says the filmmaker. Sometimes, in documentaries, we are very lucky and we receive a gift like this. I could not have imagined such symbolism. “

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