September
20
THE FLEE @ TIFF 2021
TIFF Toronto International Film Festival 2021 #TIFF21 Film THE FLEE by Sally Warburton
Events are starting to open up again and one of the main Toronto events is the Toronto International Film Festival. TIFF takes place every year in September. This year the TIFF team planned very creatively to offer a variety of film screening venues allowing for personal distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Venues include cinemas, Princess of Wales theatre, Roy Thomson Hall, Drive-Ins and an outdoor film screening venue. The Cinesphere at Ontario Place is one of the film screening venues. The Cinesphere is the perfect film screening theatre. Huge screen, fantastic sound and each seat has an excellent view. The TIFF film BK saw was THE FLEE. The Flee is a documentary done in animation and in real footage.
It’s the real life story of a child refugee from Afghanistan who ended up living in Denmark. It is narrated by the refugee, now an adult, who is being interviewed.The film was introduced by a prerecorded message from the filmmaker Jonas Poher Rasmussen. He explained, as we learned in the film, that the topic of Afghan refugees is a very relevant and very important topic right now. The film is in Danish, Russian and Afghani languages. It deals with the horrors of human traffickers – being in an enclosed container for days with a crowd of other refugees, rape, poverty, being sent back to your country, leaving family and having to say they’d died when they hadn’t, arriving in a new country with nothing, having to destroy the fake passport made by the human traffickers. Viewers see the plight of refugees. The terrible situation of refugees is explained to the viewers through a mix of brilliant animation and real footage. Although the ending is a safe one and he has become very educated and is able to choose a life with his partner, there’s an underlying extreme sadness from all the horrors he’s lived through. THE FLEE is a riveting film. Moving and informative. A brilliant film which you should see after TIFF, if you weren’t lucky enough to grab a ticket during TIFF21. If it’s daytime after seeing the film at Ontario Place CINESPHERE, spend some time exploring the grounds by Lake Ontario. Such a beautiful setting. And gives you time to think about films you’ve seen at TIFF21.
BKonthescene 