Leylet Europa will be an 11 minute animated documentary film. Co directed by Ronida Alsino and Léo Beaudoin, it is based on testimonies from 4 Syrian people telling their way to Europe. Primarily relying on ambiance shots with the occasional animated character, everything is digitally hand drawn.
Leylet is an Arabic word meaning the night. Leylet Europa, “the night of Europe”, tells the story of different people who at different times decided to set out for Europe on foot. The media coverage so far has branded a one-sided image of migration into everyone’s minds, through the excess of impressive and violent images, especially at border crossings. We want to go against this by resorting to a minimalist, uniform style without distracting from the individual fates so that their voices can be heard.
We work primarily with light and shadow; the black screen becomes a base for the sound and the experiences are supported by grey and white lines that form images. Colours are only used sporadically to reinforce a certain emotion. In addition, footage from our research trip along the Balkan route is included. In some places, however we do not use any animation or visuals at all and rely solely on the narration, which can be heard off-screen and read in the subtitles. The sound design supports the story and creates the necessary atmosphere.
The film is expected to be shown at animation and documentary festivals in the summer of 2023.
English (UK) 
Français