62 minutes, 2023 Directors : Eefje BLANKEVOORT (Canada), Els VAN DRIEL (Nederland) and Sajid KHAN NASIRI (Afghanistan) production : Prospektor (Nederland)
At 14 years old, Sajid Khan Nasiri fled Afghanistan alone. After two years of a journey strewn with pitfalls and dangers – which he filmed with the camera of his phone – he arrives in Belgium to seek asylum. There, a whole new fight begins. It’s the intimate sequel of the award-winning film Shadow Game. They call it “The Game”: the deadly journey that many unaccompanied minors take in search of protection in Western Europe. For Sajid, the game started when he was 14, after the Taliban killed his father. Passing through Iran, Turkey and Eastern Europe, he neared his destination, hounded by violent police and hostile civilians. But once in Belgium, a new game begins: the mind game. As a child, how do you deal with the enormous mental pressure of journey, distrust of authorities ? An intimate documentary about the psychological pressure faced by young refugees.
Born in 1978, Eefje BLANKEVOORT studied History at the University of Amsterdam. Between 2002 and 2006, she regularly stayed in Iran where she studied archives for the International Institute of Social History and worked on her book “Stiekem Kan Hier Alles” (“You Can Do Everything Here In Secret”) . Since then, Eefje has become a versatile journalist, she writes articles and books, and she makes interactive projects, exhibitions and documentary films. She is co-founder and director of the documentary production company Prospektor.
Born in Alkmaar, the Netherlands, In 1976, Els VAN DRIEL is a freelance journalist and director. She studied Art History and Sociocultural Theology at the University of Amsterdam. She worked for almost 13 years for the Dutch Ecumenical Broadcasting Company Ikon, where she learned the trades of television and documentary filmmaking. At Ikon, she launched the award-winning documentary series Just Kids, a series on children’s rights, which aired on television in several countries in Europe and screened at film festivals around the world. She is co-founder and director with Blankevoort of the production The Asylum Machine (nominated for the Gouden Kalf Dutch Filmfestival 2016 interactive competition) and The Deal, about the EU-Turkey relationships. Els has won numerous awards for his documentaries, including How Ky Became Niels (2015 Banff Rockie Award, 2016 Youth Award) and A Year Without My Parents (Chicago Int. Children’s Int.).
First-time co-director Sajid KHAN NASIRI was one of the main characters in Shadow Game and one of the driving forces behind the “Protect Children On The Move” campaign.