ELDORADO

ELDORADO

Markus Imhoof, Switzerland/Germany, 2018, 92 min, in German, English, and Italian with English Subtitles, Canadian Premiere

Winner, Amnesty International Prize, Berlin FF 2018; Official Selection, Telluride FF 2018; Oscar 2019 Swiss Submission

In the lean years of WW II, the family of Swiss director Markus Imhoof took in Giovanna, an Italian refugee part of a limited-term program for children. When her stay ended, Giovanna was forced to return to Italy, where she died of illness soon after. With this early experience as a point of entry to the ongoing refugee crisis, Imhoof takes us on a journey with extraordinary access through the Italian warships of Operation Mare Nostrum, refugee camps handled by the Italian Mafia, asylum hearings with local authorities, all designed to turn back refugees at all levels. What emerges is a stark picture of a human tragedy and the biggest mass displacement of people since World War II.