Flee

Shortlisted for two Academy Awards (Best International Feature & Best Documentary Feature) and poised to be nominated for another (Best Animation), Flee tells the story of the director’s childhood friend, Amin Nawabi, who left Afghanistan as a boy and kept the story of his journey as a refugee secret for over 20 years.

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Recounted mainly through animated memories, you’ll be riveted for 90 minutes as the images illustrate young Amin and his family escaping from war-torn Kabul, then trekking through other countries while living precariously as refugees. As a young man, Amin gains new experience in Denmark, where he finds professional footing through his university and makes major strides personally after coming out and finding a partner. But in what ways does his adult life feel whole, and in what ways are pieces missing?

The power of Rasmussen’s documentary is in how delicately it reveals and carries viewers through Amin’s subjective experiences. “This is a true story,” an intertitle states at the beginning, and the film honors the weight of that statement. With an unflinching lens, it pries into deep questions. How do we at times fail or refuse to understand other people? How can lack of understanding decay into violence, negligence, dehumanization, and even war? When those gaps are fixed, what joy, what acceptance, and what love can be found? One of the most creative documentaries of the year, Flee listens to Amin’s story with open ears, open eyes, and an open heart, showing us pathways to hope from a journey that took tremendous willpower.

 PG-13 / 1 hr 30 mins
Denmark / 2021 / Directed by Jonas Poher Rasmussen
In English, Danish, Dari, Russian, and Swedish with subtitles