PAPIEREN LAND

A film by Marie van Vollenhoven & Shahib Sidow.

Montage: Frank Van Valderen

2018 | Dutch | 50 min | Digital Video | Black & White | Stereo | 25fps

When he was nine, Shahib Sidow fled from Somalia’s civil war to the Netherlands. After twenty years without legal status, he’s still picking up the pieces. In “Papieren Land” Shahib recounts his adventures - warts and all - as a musical and sensual journey. His friend Marie van Vollenhoven frames the story in a white space that she continuously transforms and animates. Recreating the feeling of time lost, the film questions the robustness of good intentions both in friendship and in bureaucracy.

Screenings:

2016 Docfest - Muziekgieterij, Maastricht (preview)

2018 Nederlands Film Festival, Utrecht (NL)

2018 Docfest, Maastricht (NL)

2018 Documentary and Animated Film, DokLeipzig, Leipzig (DE)

2018 Kassel Documentary Film and Video Festival, Kassel (DE)

2018 Eindhovens Film Festival, Eindhoven (NL)

2018 Limburgs Film Festival, Venlo (NL)

2019 International Competition at Millenium International Film Festival, Brussels (BE)