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

'Midnight Traveler' shows tenuous lives of refugees [rebroadcast]

26 December 2019
A still from the 2019 documentary "Midnight Traveler."

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 film and an extended interview with producer and writer Emelie Mahdavian.

After debuting at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, the film screened at the 2019 True/False Film Festival and became one of the most widely-lauded documentaries of the year.

 

 

Note: This program originally aired March 28, 2019.

Producer: Edom Kassaye
Visual editor: Grace Lett

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