“Here is a place beyond space and time” says Kalam, who guides view­ers through the world’s largest refugee camp in Bangladesh. His poetic words form the frame­work of the film. 600,000 Rohingya have been living tight­ly packed in this muddy city, pro­vid­ed with makeshift relief sup­plies, for years. When it rains, the paths turn into streams, people wade through mud, but the chil­dren and young people still play soccer devot­ed­ly in all the mud. And when the wind blows, they fly kites. No one is allowed to leave the camp. The cam­er­a’s view is con­stant­ly blocked by all kinds of grids, but it finds ways into the huts and knows how to show the people in the most beau­ti­ful light. All the more stark is the con­trast to her reports of expul­sion, murder and rape. The camera rests on faces, on every­day ges­tures, a preg­nant woman sews a dress, the mother combs her daugh­ter’s shiny black hair. A hut is built, the chick­ens are fed. Life goes on even in stag­na­tion. Kalam only wants free­dom, and that the world learns of this tragedy.  

Olivi­er Hig­gins and Mélanie Car­ri­er are film direc­tors and pro­duc­ers from Quebec, Canada. In the con­text of this film, they also cre­at­ed the mul­ti­dis­ci­pli­nary exhi­bi­tion “Wan­der­ing, a Rohingya Story” on view at the Nation­al Museum of Fine Arts of Quebec (MNBAQ). 

Direc­tors: Olivi­er Hig­gins, Mélanie Carrier
Cin­e­matog­ra­phy: Renaud Philippe, Olivi­er Higgins
Edi­tors: Olivi­er Hig­gins, Amélie Labrèche
Pro­duc­tion: möfilms
Dis­tri­b­u­tion: SPIRA, Québec