Flee | Dir: Jonas Poher Rasmussen | ★ ★ ★ ★ ★
What does home mean to you? This is the first question Danish filmmaker Jonas Poher Rasmussen asks his friend of 25 years Amin Nawabi. Amin, who now lives in Denmark, has been holding onto a painful secret for all this time but he needs to tell his extraordinary story so he move on with his life and create a home with his soon to be husband.
Amin says that home is some place safe where you can stay and not have to move on but if he is to tell his story, he wants to remain anonymous. Using hand-drawn animation and archival footage, this animated documentary turns an extremely personal story into a global one that has made Oscar history for becoming the first film to be nominated in the documentary feature, international feature and animated feature categories.
So Amin is not his real name but the story is very real. As a child, Afghanistan was not a safe place after the Soviet Union took over in 1984 and after his father was arrested, Amin and his family found they had to flee in several different directions. They had to resort to the extortions of human traffickers while the dangers of the elements, the threat discovery and the hazards of the surrounding warfare made all the escapes exceptionally harrowing.
As a child, Amin was told that he could never tell his story, but this animated masterpiece has allowed him to connect his past with his present by sharing his story for the first time. Now an accomplished academic living in Denmark, Amin is able to feel a lot more at home within himself, and Rasmussen reports that he has now bought a house with his husband.
Flee will screen as part of the Perth Festival at Somerville from Monday 7 March to Sunday 13 March. Films now start at 7.30pm. It is advisable to get tickets in advance from perthfestival.com.au and arrive early, with your cushion and rug, go get a good seat.
Lezly Herbert
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