OBSCURE NIGHT - GOODBYE HERE, ANYWHERE
A feature-length documentary film Sylvain George, 2023, 183', DCP, black and white / color
Melilla, a Spanish enclave in Morocco, is a land border between the African continent and Europe.
In transit through the city, Malik and his friends, miners of Moroccan origin, try to reach Europe by any means necessary.
Day after night, they make the 400 blows, survey the city in all directions, turn it inside out like a glove like seismographs revealing the most burning present like the movements of the most distant past, take all the risks to cross the barriers, to cross the waters of the harbour, climbing on the boats…
Staying there, as if dead before being born? Rather "burn the sea" than die before having lived.
WORLD PREMIERE at FESTIVAL DE LOCARNO - Concurso Internazionale - SPECIAL JURY MENTION
DMZ Documentary Film Festival, Corée GRAND PRIZE
Mostra de Sao Paulo
XV Festival Internacional de Cine de Cali - FICCALI 2023
El Gouna Film Festival, Egypte
Muestra Internacional Documental de Bogotá (MIDBO)
Documenta, Venezuela
Filmmaker Film Festival, Italy
Festival DocBuenos Aires
Cinéma du Réel, Paris
Production: Noir Productions (France)
In co-production with Alina film (Switzerland) and
the Radio Télévision Suisse RTS, Bettina Hofmann
and Steven Artels.
Direction, script, image, editing: Sylvain George
Producers: Marie-Noelle George, Ottavia Fragnito
Coproducers: Eugenia Mumenthaler, David Epiney,
Sound Edit and mix: Carlos Ibañez Diaz
Colograding: Jean-Baptiste Perrin
Picture: Rémy Artiges
Sylvain George is a French filmmaker, born in 1968 in Lyon.
After studying philosophy, he went on to make poetic, political and experimental film essays, notably on the theme of immigration.
His films L'impossible (2009), Qu'ils reposent en révolte (2010), Les Éclats (2011), Vers Madrid (2013) and Paris est une fête (2017) have been screened in activist networks and at international festivals such as Cinéma du réel, Milan, CPH:DOX, Torino Film Festival, BAFICI, DocLisboa, Valdivia, Cinémathèque of Copenhague, Viennale Centre Pompidou, Forum des Images, Festival de Lussas, FID Marseille, and others. and have been the subject of several retrospectives (Cinémathèque Française 2008, FilmmakerFilmFestival 2008, Festival des Cinéma différents 2008, Périphérie/Jacques Rancière 2009, Doc's Kingdom 2009, Subversive Film Festival 2010, etc.).
With the support of Eurimage, Cinémas du Monde, support for the writing and development of the CNC, Office Fédéral de la Culture, Cinéforom, Loterie Romande and Abbé Pierre Foundation.