The Strangers' Case | International Feature

INTERNATIONAL FEATURE

Jordan/ 1hr 44m    Arabic, English, Greek

In Sir Thomas More, Shakespeare wrote a speech in which More makes a passionate defence for refugees, pleading for empathy from his fellow countrymen and culminating in a poignant description of the plight of refugees - “The Strangers’ Case” - which persists today.

Tragedy strikes a Syrian family in Aleppo, starting a chain reaction of events involving five different families in four different countries.

A doctor and her daughter come home following a chaotic shift at an Aleppo hospital. In the midst of a birthday celebration the two women are forced to make a difficult decision that will forever change their lives and their relationship. A soldier witnesses heinous crimes towards men, women and children in service of the Syrian regime. As the violence and corruption escalate, he finds himself reevaluating his own humanity. A smuggler in Turkey tries desperately to make ends meet for his young son. In an effort to save enough money to afford their own escape, he arranges for passage to Greece on inflatable life rafts to refugees in a nearby camp for a steep price. A poet who has made it to the safety of a Turkish refugee camp with his young family barters for space on an overcrowded boat, which is pushed out into rough seas, bound for Greece. A Greek coastguard captain spends his days and nights rescuing sinking lifeboats full of migrants off the coast of Lesvos, constantly haunted by those he wasn't able to save.