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Mighty Afrin: In the Time of Floods film image

Mighty Afrin: In the Time of Floods

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North American Premiere

A meditative, hybrid documentary centered on the resilient Afrin, a nomadic orphan living on rapidly eroding mud islands in the Brahmaputra River, who decides to embark on a quest to find her father. Director Angelos Rallis spent five years living with Afrin, collaborating with her on the film, abandoning the assumptions of objectivity for an unscripted, semi-fictionalized story, as she makes the onerous journey to Bangladesh’s capital city of Dhaka. Its ingenious style and structure allows for an immersive, empowering epic one moment, and a sobering vision of the effects of climate change and poverty across the landscape of Bangladesh the next. From the floodplains of the Brahmaputra River to the harsh city streets of Dhaka, this stunning hybrid-documentary captures the catastrophic effects of climate change upon the country’s people and landscape. The tale of twelve-year-old orphan Afrin and her personal odyssey becomes an allegory for the plight of millions of climate refugees across Bangladesh. A profound blend between intimate, verité documentary and the power of epic mythmaking.

 

WFF Award for Best Environmental Film, Thessaloniki Documentary Film Festival

September 29 & 30: Q&A with director Angelos Rallis & crew

Director
Credits
Country of Origin

Greece/France/Germany

Year

2023

Series

Spectrum

Language

In Bengali with English subtitles

18+
92 min
Award Winners Documentary

Book Tickets

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Credits

Executive Producer

David Piperni, Daniel Cantagallos, Hafiz Uddin Munna, Giorgos Rallis

Producer

Maria del Mar Rodriguez, Angelos Rallis

Screenwriter

Angelos Rallis

Cinematography

Angelos Rallis

Editor

Nadia Ben Rachid, Angelos Rallis

Original Music

Alexis Rault

Director

Angelos Rallis headshot

Angelos Rallis

Angelos Rallis started his career in TV and theatre in Greece before moving to Sweden and the UK to complete his graduate and post-graduate studies in Film, Anthropology and Photography. In 2006 he became an elected member of the International Federation of Journalists (UK). His early work in video and photography has been published in international newspapers such as Ethnos and The Guardian and has been used by press agencies and NGOs around the world. Angelos has also worked as a director for the Greek National Television (ERT).

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