Every minute counts as a German naval search and rescue boat races against time and tough bureaucratic border policies in Jonathan Schörnig’s thriller-like, emotional documentary.
Thirty-one miles away from the Libyan border and deep in the international waters of the Mediterranean Sea, one of the world’s deadliest refugee routes, 104 migrants are stranded in a sinking rubber boat with no water or communication devices. Screening at DOK Leipzig, One Hundred Four (Einhundertvier) makes a timely appearance just as the European Union is considering dealing with the long-standing migrant crisis with harsher laws.
Since 2012, the coasts of Libya have been the kickoff point for the majority of migrant boats carrying dozens, and sometimes thousands, of migrants heading to Europe. Over the years, traffickers have used the country’s political and economic turmoil and its continuous civil war to intensify unorganized migration to Spain, Greece, Malta, and Italy. The UN and other international organizations have documented thousands of people who drowned silently in the Mediterranean, unable to reach shore or be spotted by rescue missions. In his film, which was shot in 2019, Schörnig tells the story of 104 migrants from Sudan, South Sudan, Egypt, Nigeria, and Chad who were given a second chance to live.
One Hundred Four starts as the rescue ship Elenora spots a blue rubber boat carrying dozens of migrants. The Elenora dispatches a smaller motor boat, realizing the rubber raft is on its way to sinking. Multiple cameras — steadycams, GoPros, and mobile — document the process as a smaller boat escorts the migrants to safety aboard the Elenora. The motor boat crew, led by Clara Richter, communicates with the migrants in Arabic and English and ensures that they follow the instructions during almost four round-trips between the boats. When Richter approaches the boat to distribute life jackets, the refugees cheer with the relief of a patient in critical condition seeing medical assistance arriving. It is a strong emotion reflected in Matteo Garrone’s fictionalized account Io Capitano, Italy’s Oscar submission.
Schörnig’s editing decision, to feature all the feeds of the cameras consequently on the screen, intensifies the anxiety and tension, especially when the Libyan Coast Guard (ICG) shows up, notorious for harassing migrant boats and sometimes humanitarian vessels. The migrants are trapped between being detained in Europe or being sent into the infamous Libyan incarceration centers, where thousands of migrants have been reported to be abused. At this moment, the film humanizes both the migrants and the nine members of the humanitarian mission, as all are concerned for their safety from the ICG.
Fans of well-scripted and smooth-flowing documentaries might be put off by certain aspects of the editing, like the back-and-forth motor boat trips that transfer migrants from the capsizing boat to the Elenora. But it is in this no man’s land, where international laws, resolutions, and pledges are absent, that what remains are individuals’ decisions to assist those in dire danger. Through this, Schörnig, who can be seen in the cockpit of the Elenora, presents a fascinating journey that doesn’t end with the migrants’ physical survival. There is another journey till all passengers (crew and migrants included) must take to find a port that is willing to accept them, and where they can negotiate their way ashore.
Although visuals (in the form of amateur videos, news reports, and documentaries) of the atrocities in the Mediterranean are not rare, One Hundred Four is distinct in taking a clear stand against EU governments who are planning to intensify regulations to block migration and who support North African countries cracking down on similar trips. The film should attract interested audiences not only in Europe but also in the Middle East and North Africa.
Director: Jonathan Schörnig
Cast: Claus-Peter Reisch, Martin Ernst, Thirsten Sikalla, Gerlad Karl, Clara Richter, Georg Albiez, Kostis Plevris
Producer: Uwe Nitschke
Co-Producer: Adrian Then
Cinematography: Jonathan Schörnig, Johannes Filous
Editing: Jonathan Schörnig, Moritz Petzold
Production companies: U.N TV-Produktion
World sales: jonathan.schoernig@posteo.de, uwenitschke@mac.com
Venue: DOK Leipzig Documentary and Animation Film Festival (Out of competition)
In German, English, Italian, Arabic
93 minutes
