SYNOPSIS

Since 2017, Sea-Watch and the Swiss NGO Humanitarian Pilots Initiative (HPI) have been using aerial reconnaissance to document human rights violations in the central Mediterranean. On 12 February 2021, the crew of the aircraft Seabird witnesses a boat carrying nearly 30 people in distress, with no life jackets and no rescue in sight. Despite repeated attempts to alert nearby merchant vessels and official rescue coordination centres, no help arrives. When two speedboats operated by the Spanish rescue organisation Proactiva Open Arms approach the boat, a vessel of the so-called Libyan Coast Guard attempts to prevent the rescue. From the air, the Seabird crew watches as the situation unfolds, unable to intervene directly. Only when the people are finally brought to safety can the crew breathe a sigh of relief. Their rescue is a moment of hope in a reality where European policies continue to put people seeking protection at risk.

CREDITS

Director: SIMON STRAETKER, DAVID LOHMUELLER

Co-Director: JANIKA KAMM

Camera: SIMON STRAETKER, DAVID LOHMUELLER

Editor: JANIKA KAMM

Colour Grading: MEGHAN TOMEO-LOHMUELLER

Sound Design: JANIKA KAMM

VFX: LARS RICHTER, CLAUDIO SIPKA

Production Company: BLACK FOREST COLLECTIVE

MY STATEMENT

“As co-director and editor, I worked on shaping the film’s narrative from the footage and events witnessed by the Seabird crew. For me, the editing process meant navigating a fine line between making these events visible and protecting the dignity and privacy of the people involved. Watching hours of disturbing footage, I had to make difficult decisions about what to show, what to leave out, and where an image became too graphic to serve the story.

The challenge was to make a complex political reality tangible through specific incidents at sea, while preserving the urgency and uncertainty of the situation. I wanted to bring viewers closer to the people documenting these events from the air, while remaining mindful of the human lives behind every image.”