Monitoring press freedom and international affairs from Mid-Missouri Public Radio and the Missouri School of Journalism

'Midnight Traveler' spotlights odyssey for asylum seekers

28 March 2019
A screenshot from the documentary "Midnight Traveler" shows filmmaker and asylum-seeker Hassan Fazili in a high-security detention center in Hungary.

After being threatened by the Taliban, filmmaker Hassan Fazili was forced to flee Afghanistan. Like thousands of others, he and his family set out for Europe seeking safety and a stable life.

What follows is a two-year odyssey that Fazili, wife Fatima Hussaini, and their two daughters carefully documented on video with their phones. From negotiating with people smugglers to hiding in abandoned buildings and being beaten by Bulgarian nationalists, the new documentary "Midnight Traveler" highlights the cruelty and capriciousness of the European Union's asylum system – and a family's strength to persevere.

 

On this special edition of Global Journalist, a look at this remarkable new film and an extended interview with producer and writer Emelie Mahdavian.

After debuting at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, the film recently screened at the 2019 True/False Film Festival.

Producer: Edom Kassaye
Visual editor: Grace Lett

Monitoring press freedom and international affairs from Mid-Missouri Public Radio and the Missouri School of Journalism.
cameramagnifiercross linkedin facebook pinterest youtube rss twitter instagram facebook-blank rss-blank linkedin-blank pinterest youtube twitter instagram