Conflict, economic crisis, and depleting environmental resources are driving increasing numbers of people to attempt the treacherous journey across the Mediterranean to Europe. At least 1,500 migrants have died so far in 2015 on route to Europe – at least 30 times higher than last year’s equivalent figure.

Those Who Feel the Fire Burning, Morgan Knibbe‘s innovative and genre-blurring film, places viewers in the perspective of a person who has begun a dangerous and desperate journey to Europe. From its opening seconds, the film throws us into chaos as a boat carrying families of hopeful migrants plunges into rough waves during the night. While death is presumed for all aboard, one man continues his journey onto European shores as a ghost. Through his narration and observations of immigrants navigating new lives in Europe, we are faced with the reality that even those who survive the voyage arrive to a hostile world.

Skillfully shot and edited by Knibbe, Those Who Feel the Fire Burning includes swooping, dreamlike drone cinematography to capture the everyday lives of immigrants struggling in Greece and Italy. By employing unconventional documentary methods, Knibbe creates a humanistic and conscious-raising portrait of the individual lives at stake in the migration crisis.

Directed by Morgan Knibbe
Produced by BALDR Film
Duration: 71′
Year: 2014