When Paul Came Over the Sea
Journal of an Encounter
( Als Paul über das Meer kam - Tagebuch einer Begegnung )

Jakob Preuss
2017 - 97 min - Vidéo Full HD - Couleur - Allemagne

Paul has made his way from his home in Cameroon across the Sahara to the Moroccan coast where he now lives in a forest waiting for the right moment to cross the Mediterranean. This is where he meets Jakob, a filmmaker from Berlin, who is filming along Europe's borders. Soon afterwards, Paul manages to cross over to Spain on a rubber boat. He survives - but half of his companions die on this tragic 50 hour odyssey. Held for two months in a deportation centre, upon his release Paul meets Jakob again at a shelter for migrants in Southern Spain. When Paul decides to continue on to Germany, Jakob has to make a choice: will he become an active part of Paul's pursuit of a better life or remain a detached documentary filmmaker?


Distribution


Distributor : Weydemann Bros. GmbH

Distinctions

2017 - Filmfestival Max Ophüls Preis, Saarbrücken (Allemagne) : Sélection
2017 - International Film Festival Rotterdam (IFFR), Rotterdam (Pays-Bas) : 3rd Audience Award
2017 - Bergamo Film Meeting, Bergamo (Italie) : Best Documentary Award
2017 - Festival Docuday UA, Kiev (Ukraine) : DOCU/RIGHT Main Prize
2017 - KFF - Krakowski Festiwal Filmowy, Cracovie (Pologne) : Sélection