The captivating Danish docudrama Flykt (Flee) was making a big buzz in the world of the Oscars with its triple nominations. But how does a filmmaker find room to rejoice in a world on fire? That is the real question on filmmaker Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s mind
“It is surreal being in the middle of all the glitz and glamour while feeling like the world is burning,” says Jonas Poher Rasmussen. It is obvious that the filmmaker is harbouring ambiguous feelings about his success amid current events. “With everything going on in Ukraine and also in Afghanistan...I guess it makes it even more meaningful to spotlight refugee narratives and give human faces to refugee stories,” he says on his Oscar-nominated short film Flee.
Flee starts as a sunny childhood depiction, sprinkled with the type of kitchen sink realism recognizable to anyone growing up in the 80s: siblings quarrelling in their teen rooms to the soundtrack of A-ha’s ‘Take on me’ and Jean-Claude Van Damme doing round kicks on posters plastered on the walls. But in the crossroads of becoming yet another coming-of-age flick, Flee suddenly takes a dark turn, as the mujahideen takes control of Afghanistan, forcing the young protagonist Amin Nawabi and his family on the run.
The subject matter of Flee is in itself painfully contemporaneous, as the world finds itself in the middle of a refugee crisis. Poher Rasmussen hopes that the film can function as a reminder that the term refugee is not an identity. “Yes, the film is called Flee, and it is about a physical flight from Afghanistan to Denmark, but it is really a story about a man looking for a place in the world where he can fully be who he is”.
That place for Amin Nawabi ended up being Denmark. He came alone and ended up in the same small town where Poher Rasmussen grew up. “We started meeting at the bus stop every morning, going to high school and slowly becoming very good friends”, the filmmaker says.
A still from Flee. Photo: Courtesy of Jonas Poher Rasmussen and Amin
The adolescents would subsequently grow into men, cultivating a 25-year friendship that, albeit great, was also shadowed by Amin’s past, which he kept tightly locked within himself. “The story of his past became this black box in our friendship, and he didn’t open it until nine years ago when I asked him if we could do this film”, Poher Rasmussen says.
Amin agreed to be part of the film in exchange for a promise that he would remain anonymous. “The fact that he didn’t have to be in the public eye with his story was really what enabled him to start opening up”, the filmmaker says.
Filmmaker Jonas Poher Rasmussen. Photo: Morten Lansen
In Flee, Amin tells his story in recorded interviews. It is a story of despair, survival and ultimately, hope. He also comes out as gay, revealing that not only was Jean-Claude Van Damme his idol but also his first crush. Unravelling the decades-old secrets that had prevented the childhood friends from truly connecting ended up strengthening the friendship.
“When you keep secrets, you also keep people at a certain distance, so the fact that he unburdened himself and got the story out there made us closer,” Poher Rasmussen says.
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A still from Flee.
The filmmaker hopes that the film shows that refugees are complex human beings with hopes and dreams for their future. “Amin was a refugee when I met him, but he is not a refugee anymore. He is so much more. He is a brilliant academic. He is gay. He is a house owner and a cat lover who also loves plants and flowers, the filmmaker says of his friend.
While the movie did not receive an Oscar, Amin is, according to Poher Rasmussen, still a bit overwhelmed but also really happy that his story has been told. Not only for people who have similar experiences and where they can feel seen and represented, but also so that people, in general, can understand what it means to have to flee your home and look for a place where you feel safe again.