In FLEE, the Grand Jury Prize winner at last year’s Sundance Festival, filmmaker Jonas Poher Rasmussen tells a poignant story of belonging and the search for identity. Amin’s life has been defined by his past and a secret he’s kept for over 20 years. Forced to leave his home country of Afghanistan as a young child with his mother and siblings, Amin now grapples with how his past will affect his future in Denmark and the life he is building with his soon-to-be husband. Told brilliantly through the use of animation to protect his identity, Amin looks back over his life, opening up for the first time about his past, his trauma, the truth about his family, and his acceptance of his own sexuality. 2021, Denmark, 89 minutes, rated PG13 for thematic content, animated documentary, in Danish, English, Dari, Russian and Swedish with English Subtitles.
2022 Academy Award Nominee: Best Documentary
2022 Academy Award Nominee: Best Animation
2022 Academy Award Nominee: Best Foreign Film
Depicting the refugee experience through vivid animation, Flee pushes the boundaries of documentary filmmaking to present a moving memoir of self-discovery.
One screening only, at the Nyack Center on Tuesday, March 22, at 8:00 pm.
Proof of vaccination is required to enter. Masks must be worn in the theater.
Join immigrant advocate Nancy Bermon, filmmaker Susanna Styron, and a representative from the Rockland County Pride Center for a discussion after the film:
Nancy Bermon leads the social justice committee at The Reform Temple of Rockland, which is partnering with the Islamic Center of Rockland to resettle an Afghan refugee family, with the support of HIAS https://www.hias.org/, one of a handful of refugee resettlement agencies in the U.S. She is also a member of Rockland Jews for Immigrant Justice, which works in solidarity with Proyecto Faro/Project Lighthouse https://proyectofarorockland.org/, an immigrant-led and run advocacy and mutual aid organization in Rockland County.
Susanna Styron writes and directs films. Her most recent documentary, Out of My Head, is about migraines, and is told in parts through the use of animation. Susanna is appearing with Out of My Head at the Nyack Library on March 23, where she will discuss her film with Jen Laird White, the previous Mayor of Nyack.
A representative of the Phyllis B Frank Pride Center of Rockland County, will Join the discussion as well. Their mission it to support and celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, and challenge stereotypes that adversely effect it.
Community Partner:
“Flee morphs from a tale of dispossession to a testament to the power of narrative – to overtake a life, and to liberate it.” – Ann Hornaday, Washington Post
“An intimate portrait of the lasting traumas of displacement and one of the most humane films of the year. “– Jen Yamato, Los Angeles Times
“The year’s most inventive animated adventure mixes graphic design with documentary realism and puts hallucinatory brilliance at the service of understanding the continuing psychic damage of war. You’ll never forget it.” – Peter Travers, ABC News
“The film, heightened by haunting, sometimes surreal animated sequences, helps us understand why solitude threatened to be his permanent state, and how a refugee’s flight can devastate the strongest spirit and shut down a tender one.” – Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal
“ ‘Home — what does it mean to you?” That’s the question that hovers over “Flee,” Jonas Poher Rasmussen’s piercing animated documentary about a high school friend of his who emigrated from Afghanistan to Denmark as a teenager.” Critic’s Pick – A. O. Scott, The New York Times
“With great resourcefulness, Rasmussen puts you through it in a way that illustrates, instructs, makes you look inward and ask whether you’d have what it takes, if you could tough it out and survive in a cold, hostile world.” – Todd McCarthy, Deadline Hollywood
“A rich, seamlessly told and emotionally affecting story.” – Lindsey Bahr, Associated Press
“Beautifully animated to protect the identity of the main subject, Rasmussen’s film examines the lengths we will go to in order to survive and protect those we love.” – Josh Flanders, Chicago Reader
“A feat of humanistic filmmaking, this is a movie we will be celebrating all through next year’s awards season and talking about long after.” – Tomris Laffly, Harper’s Bazaar
“Innovative and visually dynamic… The animation renders his fond childhood memories with painterly grace, and turns his darkest hours into nightmarish horrors.” – David Sims, The Atlantic
“Etched without a false note of cynicism or falling into cheap sentimentality, “Flee” harnesses the animated medium in stunning form.” – Carlos Aguilar, TheWrap
“A penetrating insight into the psychology of the migrant experience. Shame, Amin admits in one jaw-dropping encounter with an ocean liner full of snapping tourists, is a constant companion. This remarkable film will stay with you in a similar way.” – Phil de Semlyen, Time Out
“It’s a powerful and poetic memoir of personal struggle and self-discovery that expands the definition of documentary.” – David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter
“This is a triumph-of-the-human-spirit story as dramatic as the most finely wrought melodrama, with flashes of vintage newsreels reminding us that it is all ‘real’”. – Mark Kermode, The Observer (UK)
“An irresistibly moving and engrossing story.” – Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
“It’s activism, therapy, and great cinema all at once.” – Eric Kohn, IndieWire
“An original artistic exploration of the way that trauma impacts one’s sense of self.” – Peter Debruge, Variety
