Refugees
2025 • 1 min • Australia
‘Refugees’ is a photofilm that consists solely of photographs, placed in a cinematic context, that documents the hardships and trauma experienced by refugees in various refugee camps.
These refugees live in prison-like camps where they often experience harsh and inhumane conditions. Babies are born in these camps, where the mortality rates are extremely high due to factors such as inadequate access to food, clean water, healthcare, and sanitation.
Emotionally charged photographs, combined with statistics and a haunting sound design, create a filmic experience that experiments with the visual narrative of traditional documentary shorts.
Inspired by the early photofilms of Alain Resnais, Van Gogh (1948) and Guernica (1950), and Chris Marker’s LA JETEE (1962), ‘Refugees’ is presented in a style reminiscent of the early photofilms, but timed and formatted in a vertical aspect ratio, illustrating an influence derived from the current Shorts/Reel style of films produced for social media platforms.
All photographs in this photofilm were made when I was a photojournalist covering traumatic world events for various newspapers, magazines, and NGOs.