TARIFA TRAFFIC

DEATH IN THE STRAITS OF GIBRALTAR

Joakim Demmer
Germany, Switzerland 2003 | 60 Min. | BetaSP, OmeU

Tarifa, a city in the south of Spain, Europe‘s south­ern­most point, early morn­ing. The wind surfers sail across the clear blue sea and the first tourists are taking their places in the deck chairs. Only a few steps away a dead body is being tossed up on the shore by crash­ing waves. They come when there is a full moon and a smooth sea. These are the nights of the “pat­eras”, the motor­boats that try to cross the Strait of Gibral­tar in the dark. They come from Moroc­co and Sub-Saha­ran Africa. Many cannot swim and have noth­ing except for the clothes on their backs. It doesn‘t take much for an over­filled boat to cap­size or sink. From an Euro­pean per­spec­tive and with haunt­ing images, the film looks at the people of Tarifa whose every­day life is influ­enced by the con­stant flow of ille­gal immi­grants look­ing for a better future in the fortress that is Europe.