26/10/2023 - One of the co-directors delves into her documentary revolving around the two-year odyssey of a young Afghani boy seeking asylum in Europe

After the screening held at this year’s Human Rights Film Festival Berlin (11-22 October), we seized the opportunity to interview Els van Driel, one of the helmers of the touching documentary The Mind Game [+see also:
interview: Els van Driel
film profile]. The Dutch picture was co-directed with Eefje Blankevoort, and its protagonist is young Sajid Khan Nasiri (known as SK), who fled Afghanistan alone at the age of 15. The feature follows the boy’s two-year journey to Europe. After enduring danger and hardships – minutely documented on his phone camera – he arrives in Belgium to seek asylum. Once there, he will end up facing new challenges, far from home and fearing an uncertain fate.

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Cineuropa: When and how did you embark on the making of The Mind Game?
Els van Driel: The Mind Game came as a follow-up on the life of one of the protagonists from our previous film, Shadow Game. In that movie, we followed ten unaccompanied boys on their way to Europe. SK was one of them. He had filmed hundreds of videos of his journey, and we had all these conversations on WhatsApp. When he arrived in Belgium, his journey wasn't over yet, and he kept on sending us videos. That’s when we decided to co-direct this story.

What were the main technical and human challenges you faced along the way?
While filming on the Balkan route, it was often very cold. And the circumstances were dire. But the hardest part was leaving SK behind and returning to our comfortable lives. Why couldn’t we just take him in our car? We would have risked a jail sentence if we’d done that. Later, when Ukrainians were able to be transported over the border by Europeans, we felt betrayed.

Could you elaborate on the editing process and on the long narrative interview you filmed with Sajid?
While we were editing, we found it very difficult [to find] the form in which we should tell his “mind journey”. It was at quite a late stage that we decided that SK would have to sum up everything in a studio. At first, we didn’t want him to be part of the film, but in the end, our main editor said: “You are just part of his journey. It can’t do without your conversations and your voices.”

The documentary is simple and linear, yet very effective at recounting this young boy's odyssey to Europe and his fight to be recognised as a refugee. Which audience has proven to be the most receptive? And what kind of distribution plans did you follow?
We have found that this film resonates with all kinds of audiences. It’s just moving for people to see that a kid like Sajid has had to experience all of this. And the suicide of his best friend, Majid, is heart-breaking. With this film, we hope to give faces and voices to the many untold stories of suffering involving people on the move. Too often, it’s about numbers and statistics, but we can never forget that these are people just like you and me. This film will tour Europe in the coming months, and we have an impact campaign with special screenings in Belgium as well.

How is Sajid now? Is he still in Antwerp?
He is doing well. He still has worries about his family, but he is going to school to learn Flemish, and now he wants to become a journalist. It’s great to work with this young rising star. He has also started his own TikTok channel and is already being recognised on the streets by his Afghan followers.