11 May 2021 On the Screen (MD 2021/2)

Saarbruecken (Germany) 2021

At the 42nd Film Festival Max Ophuels Prize Saarbruecken held 17-24 January 2021, the Prize of the Ecumenical Jury, endowed with € 2500 by the Catholic and the Protestant Adult Education in the Saarland, was awarded to Borga directed by York-Fabian Raabe (Germany, 2021).

Motivation: Borga shows the global effects of Western consumption at the expense of the African continent in haunting, sometimes oppressive images. The related migration issue is presented soberly and realistically. But the film tells more than a story about the fate of a migrant and his family. It problematises our capitalist actions, in which toxic waste is shown as a new form of exploitation of Africa and it questions the dream of illegal immigrants who are willing to become criminals for their supposed happiness. The protagonist cannot fulfil the ambivalent expectations of both worlds and finally experiences the family as the ultimate support.

The German-Ghanaian film team has succeeded in creating an authentic, topical and gripping drama with great actors and actresses. It offers the viewer a more respectful and sensitive look at stories of flight and questions clichés. Borga gives refugees faces and promotes solidarity within the human family.

Members of the 2021 Jury: Guido Convents, Belgium; Tom Damm, Germany; Birgit Persch-Klein, Germany; Bellinda Sigillò, Switzerland.