Purple Sea

The shooting for this film was done with a waterproof camera attached to the wrist of Alzakout, a Syrian refugee who, after the overcrowded boat she was on sank in 2015, found herself at sea—somewhere along the Greek coast—along with other passengers. The camera tracks her gesticulations, which have only one aim: to help her stay afloat. The sky and the sea change places; we lose sight of the horizon; we emerge and dive, and the legs kicking in the abyss (sometimes wearing only one shoe) give the impression that the people they belong to are floating carefree in a state of weightlessness. When Alzakout’s arms reach above the surface, we hear screams and rescue whistles; we see fragments of heads and life jackets, above which there is an insanely blue sky that brings to mind tourist brochures for a Mediterranean holiday. Alzakout and Abdulwahed (they are a couple, and this is a personal project of theirs) bring out in their film not only the tragedy but also the absurd surrealism of a situation where thousands die in a sea besieged by tourists as the world looks on. This extraordinary essay also provides an opportunity for reflection on the images that have been used for years to tell the story of the refugee and migration crisis.