Those Who Feel the Fire Burning

Ein Flüchtling fällt vom Boot, ertrinkt und sieht die Welt plötzlich aus einer anderen Dimension. Die suchende Seele des alten Mannes wandert entlang der südlichen Grenze Europas, trifft auf viele desillusionierte Menschen und beobachtet sie ruhig und nahe. Sie scheinen genauso in einem Schwebezustand zu sein wie er, an der Grenze zu einem vermeintlichen Paradies. Ungewöhnlich poetisch und zugleich bedrückend eindringlich dokumentiert THOSE WHO FEEL THE FIRE BURNING ein großes Problem unserer Zeit: die hoffnungslose Situation von Bootsflüchtlingen, die es an Land schaffen – während viele ihrer Freunde und Familienmitglieder im Meer bleiben.

A refugee on a boat drowns and suddenly sees reality from another dimension. The seeking soul of the old man hurries along the southern European border and dwells on the many disillusioned people, observing them calmly and up close. They would seem to be in limbo just like him, waiting on the edge of a presumed paradise. Unconventional and poetic in form, THOSE WHO FEEL THE FIRE BURNING documents a serious social problem: the hopeless situation of refugees who flew on a boat and actually manage to make the crossing alive – while some of their friends and family did not.

Director's Biography

Morgan Knibbe, born 1989, attracted attention with the experimental film A TWIST IN THE FABRIC OF SPACE (2012), his graduation film at the Netherlands Film Academy. Two years later, he is represented at festivals with two interrelated works: SHIPWRECK (2014) premiered at the Festival del film Locarno, immediately won two prizes there, is now touring other festivals, and is part of the longer documentary film THOSE WHO FEEL THE FIRE BURNING (2014), which celebrated its world premiere at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam in 2014.