Disillusionment
2007
The Netherlands
Total running time: 11:30 minutes
Type of film: Experimental documentary/Video portraits
Spoken languages: Songs in Portuguese, Russian, Mandarin Chinese
SYNOPSIS:
Migrant women flee their homelands in search of a new country offering security, freedom and peace. They leave families, children, partners, and their cultures behind for a chance to improve their personal and political situations.
Five undocumented women residing in a transitional housing shelter in The Netherlands were given the media tools necessary to create and share their stories. Allowed only six months at this shelter before having to move out – these women struggled with raising children, becoming financially independent, leaving abusive relationships, all the while attempting to apply for legal status. As a result, five video portraits were created, offering an intimate and brief glimpse into this transient period of their lives.
The women:
Adriana sings a song of disillusionment; she longs for her country and remembers her native ways in Brazil, such as washing her clothes on the riverside while singing songs with other women. She recreates this moment as a way to bridge the gap between her life then and now.
Pei-Qi has only her daughter and herself to rely on, she has been here since she was 15, it is unclear how she got here from China or why, and is trying hard to make things work.
M. – a young woman with artistic talent has been persecuted in both her home country and here. With nowhere to go, she is in a precarious situation, when she should be in school.
Fatima, a free-spirited woman who left her abusive husband was ostracized by her friends and family because of this. Isolated from her community she longs to be free and have a normal life for her and her growing son.
Chen, left China at the age of 15, living in The Netherlands for 6 years with two of her children. She often experiences racism and feels a strong sense of guilt for having to rely on social funds. She only wants people to understand that “people without papers have hearts too”.
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