Refugees: Who Needs Them? (2012)
A cinematic, gripping and humorous look into the lives of refugees - and - ourselves.
As Europe descends into fiscal crisis, the hard line against immigrants and refugees tightens. Nowhere more than in the Netherlands, now in the grip of anti-immigration and anti-refugee rhetoric. Into this world come invited - or resettled refugees: Fatih an activist escaping death threats from Gaddafi, Fasil - a journalist from Ethiopia sentenced to life for condemning fraudulent elections, Li Zhu - a Falun Gong Buddhist. After they barely escape their governments, they find they're unwanted by governments in Europe as well. Filmed over the course of a year, they embark on a dramatic search to find out whether they are indeed useful or needed.
The film premiered at the film festival Movies that Matter in the Hague, and was screened at sold out events in cinemas across the Netherlands in collaboration with UNHCR and the Foundation for Refugee Students (UAF).