By Els van Driel, Eefje Blankevoort, Eefje Blankevoort and Els Van Driel

Shadow Game

‘The game’ is what young migrants call their attempts to cross borders in Europe. It’s a game with great risks. Inside Europe, fences have been erected and borders closed, making it increasingly difficult to reach the final destination. Some children make it; others don’t. Meanwhile, in their search for a better life, these kids often spend years on the road. All while they are growing up and becoming young adults. Shadow Game is a mosaic story that follows several adolescents as they journey through Europe. Fleeing poverty and war, they – and their families – have fixed their hopes on Europe: a safe and prosperous place where people are kind and human rights are respected. But once in Europe, they find things aren’t quite as idyllic as they expected.

Sections : Impact Days, Impact Days

Country : Italy, Greece, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, Slovenia, Netherlands, France, Belgium

Original languages : English, Arabic, Kurdish, Urdu, Dutch, Sudanese

Directors

Els van Driel
Eefje Blankevoort
Eefje Blankevoort (Netherlands)
Els Van Driel (Netherlands)

Producers

Femke de Wild
Eefje Blankevoort
Femke de Wild (Netherlands)
Eefje Blankevoort (Netherlands)
Laura Verduijn (Netherlands)
Prospektor

Completion

2021

Impact Statement

By making this film and an interactive version, we aim to both confront and inform viewers about the current situation in Europe: the violation of the Children’s rights treaty which all European countries have signed. We all condemn the barbaric border between the U.S. and Mexico, but most people do not know that these borders exist within Europe. We believe it is necessary to continuously think about our role as storytellers, to reinvent the way we use media and reach our audience. We make stories because we believe that you can change someone’s view of the world. Not from black to white or vice versa, but to make it more layered and complex, a story that offers space for different voices. A story that can prevent uninformed cynicism.

Child refugees traveling alone bear the brunt of restrictive asylum policies. With our impact campaign we try to inform and activate everyone from high school students to politicians to protect children on the move.

Impact Goals

Raise awareness about the situation of refugee minors traveling through Europe
Activate people to do something to help these young people
Put the rights of these young refugees high on the international political agenda by reaching policy and decisionmakers. Not only on their dangerous journeys through Europe, but also once they have arrived in their new country.

Impact Strategy

We organize special screenings followed by discussion and/or debate in which the makers, refugees and experts engage in conversation with the public. These screenings can be public (in theaters, debate forums, cinemas, festivals, etc.) but also behind closed doors, for example for NGO workers, in refugee centers, political parties or activist collectives.
We end every screening with a concrete call to action, asking our audience to contribute to the protection of children on the move and to take action: give your voice, give your money, give your time.
In collaboration with a coalition of NGOs, we have drafted a manifesto calling on politicians in Europe to do more to guarantee children's rights. It has received more than 35.000 signatures. Find it here: https://shadowgame.eu/en/manifesto/.
We have traveled to Brussels, where some of the boys from the film spoke at the European Parliament, calling for more protection for children on the move. In Genève they have spoken at the Palais des Nations.
We partner with film festivals (Movies that Matter, IDFA), local film education hubs and civil society organizations to ensure that the film is seen by as many young people as possible.
In collaboration with IDFA Docschool online, Movies that Matter and Schooltv (10,000 visitors per month), we provide online distribution of the films to schools. These are accompanied by a lesson plan developed by the partners.

Contact

Primary contact

Jesse Kuiper (Netherlands): jesse@prospektor.nl

Participants present at the Impact Days

Eefje Blankevoort (Netherlands)
Els Van Driel (Netherlands)
Laura Verduijn (Netherlands)
Femke de Wild (Netherlands)

Existing Partners

Distribution and sales
Java Films

Broadcasters
kro-ncrv (Netherlands)
RTL (Croatia)
TVE (Spain)
Tokyo Vision (Japan)
Phoenix (Hong Kong)
MDR (Germany)
TG4 (Ireland)
YLE (Finland)
VGTV (Norway)
Latvia Public TV
OR Media (MENA)
Al Jazeera (MENA)
VTM (Belgium)
EBS (Korea)
SRF (Switzerland)

Impact partners:
UNHCR
Defence for Children
Nidos
VluchtelingenAmbassadeurs
New Dutch Connections
Unicef
VluchtelingenWerk Nederland.
Movies That Matter
Save the Children
LOWAN
FIACAT
Centre for Peace Studies (Zagreb)
Slovenian Migration Institute.

Envisaged Partners

Distribution and sales
Java Films