Please join us for a screening of Les Messagers, directed by Hélène Crouzillat and Laetitia Tura, followed by a discussion on space- and film-making in social science research inspired by this moving and thought-provoking documentary.

Les Messagers (2014) examines the disappearance of migrants along their harrowing journey into the European Union—a symbolic and physical swallowing of individuals made most vulnerable by the border. Through the testimonies of those who attempted to cross the border by land or by sea at Melilla, a Spanish city at the northern edge of Morocco, Crouzillat and Tura expose the dark irony of a guard’s claim that the border “does no harm.” Each of these “messengers” recounts the ways they escaped death over the course of their journey. Each also tells the stories of those who did not—adults and children dying of exhaustion, violence, or drowning. With carefully composed and poetic shots, Crouzillat and Tura trace an invisibilized aspect of the migratory experience, one that takes place in the 'blank' spaces of cartographic maps: in the Mediterranean, Moroccan desert, and unmarked migrant grave sites.

The documentarian Hélène Crouzillat will be present at Queen Mary for the entire afternoon. Laetitia Tura, photographer and filmmaker, will join remotely from Dakar for the discussion.

This event is organized by PhD students and made possible by the London Interdisciplinary Social Science Doctoral Training Partnership (LISS DTP). Open to all upon registration.

Location: Geography Building (Common room on the first floor with stairs only) and Arts One building (BLOC theatre). Queen Mary University of London, Mile End Rd, Bethnal Green, London E1 4NS.

Access information: https://www.accessable.co.uk/queen-mary-university-of-london/mile-end/access-guides/geography-building.

The film is in French, Arabic, English, Spanish, and Pulaar with English subtitles. Runtime: 70 minutes. Trailer (with French subtitles): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ljkb6LpJiRQ

Les Messagers - Film screening and workshop