SUMMER

A beach frozen in time, as if in a snapshot: people enjoying the sun, a child eating ice-cream, a father taking his picture. But in the frame another character appears. Laboriously making their way out of the waters, a group of refugees crawl to the uncertain safety of the beach, escaping from near-certain death. Premiered at the Berlinale 2016 and inspired by a photograph by Juan Medina, SUMMER is an ingenious and sharp political commentary on the ongoing humanitarian crisis. By mixing 3D modelling and 16mm footage, it contrasts stasis and movement, moment and duration and reveals how liberating having your struggles acknowledged is and, conversely, how limiting photographs are in telling the stories we so readily consume. (Diana Mereoiu, BIEFF 2017)