Chance + Q&A with artist-filmmakers Effi & Amir for GIFC

CHANCE

2020

75'

Unscripted and magnificently improvised, CHANCE portrays the nocturnal attempt of four young Sudanese men to cross The Channel from Belgium to the UK and seek asylum there.

Filmed entirely within the trailer of a lorry, and based on the protagonists’ real life experiences, this docu-fiction is a rare, deeply human encounter with four individuals and with a reality that is too often invisible.

Language: Sudanese with English subtitles [CC]

Artists' Statement:

This film was born from an encounter with migrants in transit in Belgium, young and less-young men and women who fled their country and European asylum politics in order to reach the UK. With some of these courageous individuals we developed a long-term close friendship.

Through them we learnt about the "CHANCE" - the nocturnal attempt to sneak into parked trucks along the Belgian motorways, in hope that they will not be caught, that the truck won’t deviate from its route, that the security check in at the port will fail to detect them before arriving at their destination.

We were struck by their stories and the acute reality they revealed, which stood in great contrast to the mystified and demonised way in which it was depicted by politicians and the media.

We then proposed the four protagonists to make this film,that uses the CHANCE as spatial and temporal frame. But like in a real CHANCE, everything inside this frame stayed unknown. No script nor shooting breakdown was prepared. From the first “action” to the last “cut”, it was an improvisation. Improvisation was a way to assure that the protagonists would be the authors of their actions and their words.

About Effi & Amir:

Effi Weiss and Amir Borenstein are an artist duo active since 1999 as Effi & Amir. Their projects span across several disciplines and combine video, performance and participatory strategies. Effi & Amir’s work is shown locally and internationally in museums, art centres and festivals. In parallel to their own practice they collaborate with other artists, filmmakers and choreographers as editors, cameramen and effect designers. They teach and conduct workshops with various audiences worldwide. CHANCE is their third full length film.

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Pay what you can: £0-£12

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About GAMIS:

Glasgow Artists’ Moving Image Studios (GAMIS) is a charitable organisation committed to supporting experimental arts and community-focused film programming in Govanhill.

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Programmed as part of Govanhill International Festival and Carnival 2022

Supported by the National Lottery through Screen Scotland and by Scotland Loves Local