passengers
ABOUT THE FILM
THE BACKSTORY
“We left one world to enter another. I didn´t fear the sea. If you die in the sea, you die at once, but in Libya you are dying all the time. You’re not free.”
In 2016, César Dezfuli, a journalist from Spain, photographed the rescue of 118 passengers drifting in a rubber boat in the Mediterranean Sea. The rescued boys and men survived kidnappings, slavery, and unthinkable torture in Libya, a destination and transit country for West African migrants in search of a better life.
Since the day of the rescue, César has located 105 of the passengers. To this day, he continues to document their stories. Passengers not only recounts the migrants’ unimaginable journey to Europe but also the importance of remembering through the power of photography.
Recently, César Dezfuli received a World Press Photo award for his work and a nomination for the European Press Prize. His solo exhibit of Passengers has traveled to Japan, Peru, Uruguay, the UK, and Georgia. César will soon begin work on a feature-length documentary about five of the migrants from his photo reportage.
Passengers is a unique collaboration between Still I Rise Films and CASE Art Fund.
THE PASSENGERS
The journey of migration and the violence committed by traffickers, militia groups and prison guards in countries like Libya have left permanent marks on the migrants lucky enough to survive the world's deadliest sea crossing.
Talibé, a teenager who left his home country of Guinea to escape government persecution, recalls the kidnappings and slavery he endured in Libya: “If you can’t pay then they sell you to the Libyan police, the army… They catch you and they take you to jail. They beat you like a horse. They take Black people and they say: ‘Savages.’ It’s as if a Black person is worthless. Like an animal.”
Abdoul, pictured here, picks fruit in northern Spain. Four years after his rescue, he still awaits legal status. "If I was in Senegal, I would have my mother and I wouldn't have the problems to get documents. But I will never go back to Senegal. A little money here is a lot of money there."
All photographs and interviews by César Dezfuli.
www.cesardezfuli.com
