LES SAUTEURS - HÅBET BAG HEGNET
DIRECTORS: moritz siebert, estephan wagner & abou BAKAR sidibé
In northern Morocco lies the Spanish enclave of Melilla: Europe on African Land. On the mountain above live over a thousand hopeful African migrants, watching the land border, a fence system separating Morocco and Spain. Abou from Mali is one of them - the protagonist in front of the camera, as well as the person behind it. For over a year, he has ceaselessly persisted in attempting to jump the fence.
At the fence, they have to overcome the razor-wire, automatic pepper spray and brutal authorities. After every failed attempt, they return to Mount Gurugú, scouring for food in the nearby villages, trying to uphold some sort of order in the camp and building up their confidence again. Some give up and return home, others never return from the fence.
Looking through the lens, Abou gradually finds expression and meaning in his situation. "When filming I feel that I exist". But after 16 months on the mountain, Abou is brought close to a tragic accident at the fence. Returning to Mali is not an option for him, and he becomes more determined than ever to pursue his dream of a better life in Europe.
Les Sauteurs, ultimately a film about making a film, is Abou's portrayal of the human struggle for dignity and freedom on one of the World's most militarized frontiers.
PRODUCTION FACTS
Danish title: Håbet bag hegnet
Directors: Moritz Siebert, Estephan Wagner and Abou Bakar Sidibé
Producers: Signe Byrge Sørensen and Heidi Elise Christensen
Camera: Abou Bakar Sidibé
Editor: Estephan Wagner
Sound Editor: Henrik Garnov
Colorist: Maria Klarlund
Produced in collaboration with DR
With support from:
Film Workshop / Danish Film Institute
Danida
BMU Foundation
Produced by Final Cut for Real 2016
80 min. 25 fps
83 min. 24 fps
Contact
Producer Heidi Elise Christensen
heidi@final-cut.dk
Sales Agent
WIDE House
Anais Clanet
ac@widehouse.org
Festival Contacts:
WIDE House
Morgane Delay
festivals@widehouse.org
Danish Film Institute
Anne Marie Kürstein
kurstein@dfi.dk
AWARDS
Prix CPS - Faito Doc Festival, Italy, 2017
Gianmaria Testa Award, Migranti Film Festival, Pollenzo, Italy, 2017
Excellence in Visual Anthropology Award, Ethnocineca, Vienna, Austria, 2017
Prix des Jeunes, Black Movies, Geneva, Switzerland, 2017
2nd Documentary Price, Filmweekend Würzberg, Germany, 2017
Cinema Eye Honors 2017 - Spotlight Award
Nominated for Robert Prize for Best Documentary (the Danish Film Academy)
Honorable Mention, Porto/Post/Doc, Portugal
Amnesty International Award, Docs Against Gravity 2016
White Goose Award for best film, Int. Competition, DMZ Docs, Korea
Best Editing Award by The Italian Association of Film and TV Editors, AMC, Salina DOC Fest 2016
Premio Tasca d'Almerita, Salina DOC Fest 2016
Biberstein Gusmão Award (for emerging directors) to Abou Bakar Sidibé, Porto/Post/Doc, Portugal
Main Award: Int. Feature length Award, Frankfurt Lichter IFF 2016
Main Prize, dokKa Karlsruhe, 2016
The Jury's Second Prize, Feature length Competition, DocumentaMadrid 2016
Honorable Mention, Hamptons Int. Film Festival, USA
Special Jury Mention, Camden Int. Film Festival
Special Mention, DOK.fest München 2016
Ecumenical Jury Award, Berlinale 2016
festivals
Stories That Matter - March 2018, Singapore
Cinevolution’s DocuAsia, February 2018, Canada
Ciné Droit Libre Bamako, December 2018, Mali
Ciné Droit Libre, December 2017, Burkina Faso
Les escales documentaires de Libreville, Nov 2017, Gabon
Ciné Droit Libre Abidjan, November 2017, Ivory Coast
Zinexit Human Rights Film Festival, November 2017, Spain
Africa International Film Festival, October 2017, Nigeria
RIMA Film Festival, October 2017, Malta
Festival des Libertés, October 2017, Belgium
Duhok IFF, September 2017, Iraq
Carl IFF Karlskrona, September 2017, Sweden
Festival Cinémas d'Afrique, August 2017, Switzerland
Bucheon / DMZ Docs, June 2017, South Korea
FCAT Festival de Cinéma Africain, May 2017, Spain
Doc a Tunis, April 2017, Tunisia
RiverRun IFF in Winston-Salem, April 2017, USA
RAI Film Festival Bristol, April 2017, UK
Eurodok, April 2017, Norway
Sebastopol Documentary Film Festival, March 2017, USA
Uni. of San Francisco Human Rights FF, March 2017, USA
Tartu World Film Festival, March 2017, Estonia
WOW Wales One World Film Festival, March 2017, UK
One World Human Rights FF, March 2017, Czech Republic
Salem Film Festival, March 2017, USA
Lux Film Fest, March 2017, Luxembourg
CinemAfrica, February 2017, Sweden
Doc Lounge, February-June 2017, Sweden, Norway, Finland
Miradas Doc Festival, February 2017, Spain
Doc Point Helsinki Documentary FF, January 2017, Finland
Black Movie Geneva Int. FF, January 2017, Switzerland
Bertha Doc House, January 2017, UK
Festival du Film Documentaire de St Louis, December 2016, Senegal
Transcinema, December 2016, Peru
Porto/Post/Doc, November 2016, Portugal
Black Nights, November 2016, Estonia
IDFA, November 2016, The Netherlands
DOC NYC, November 2016, USA
9th Panorama of the European Film, November 2016, Egypt
Nordic Film Days Lübeck, November 2016, Germany
Leeds Int. Film Festival, November 2016, UK
Afrikanische Filmtage Munich, October 2016, Germany
Film Africa UK, October 2016, UK
Independent FilmFest Osnabrück, October 2016, Germany
Corsica Doc, October 2016, France
Antalya Film Festival, October 2016, Turkey
Prix Europa, October 2016, Germany
Cinemigrante Film Festival, October 2016, Argentina
DOCS DF, October 2016, Mexico
Festival de Cine de Valdivia, October 2016, Chile
Hamptons Int. Film Festival, October 2016, USA
BFI. London Film Festival, October 2016, UK
FEMF, October 2016, Slovenia
Zimbabwe Int. Film Festival, October 2016, Zimbabwe
War on Screen, September 2016, France
Festival du Film Francophone de Namur, September 2016, Belgium
Moldox, September 2016, Moldova
Zürich Film Festival, September 2016, Switzerland
Cinematik Int. Film Festival, September 2016, Slovakia
Milano Film Festival, September 2016, Italy
Camden Int. Film Festival, September 2016, USA
DMZ Docs, September 2016, Korea
Nordisk Panorama, September 2016, Sweden
États Généraux du Film Documentaire, August 2016, France
Melbourne Int. Film Festival, August 2016, Australia
Galway Film Fleadh, July 2016, Ireland
Sommerberlinale Köln, July 2016, Germany
AFIDOCS, June 2016, USA
DocuFest, June 2016, Kosovo
Durban International Film Festival, June 2016, South Africa
Biografilm Festival, June 2016, Italy
Salina DOC Fest, June 2016, Italy
Seoul Agape Film Festival, May 2016, South Korea
Int. Film Festival Innsbruck, May2016, Austria
Docaviv, May 2016, Israel
dokKa Karlsruhe, May 2016, Germany
Docs Against Gravity, May 2016, Poland
DOK.fest München, May 2016, Germany
DocumentaMadrid IFF, May 2016, Spain
Crossing Europe, April 2016, Austria
Frankfurt Lichter IFF, March 2016, Germany
Hong Kong IFF, March 2016
True False, March 2016, USA
Berlinale World Premiere 17 February 2016, Germany