Join the Duke University Libraries Department of International and Area Studies, Rubenstein Library's Human Rights Archive, and the Duke Human Rights Center @FHI for a special film screening, photo exhibition, and post-film discussion.

The first documentary to ever win the top award at the Berlin International Film Festival, Fire at Sea takes place in Lampedusa, a once peaceful Mediterranean island that has become a major entry point for African refugees into Europe. There, we meet Samuele, a 12-year-old boy who lives simply, climbing rocks by the shore and playing with his slingshot. Yet nearby we also witness thousands of men, women, and children trying to survive the crossing from Africa in boats that are too small for such a journey. Filmmaker Gianfranco Rose masterfully places these realities side by side, and in so doing creates a remarkable third narrative that jolts us into a new understanding of what is really happening in the Mediterranean today.

The screening will be accompanied by an exhibit of works by photographer Darrin Zammit Lupi, who will participate in a post-screening discussion.

Free and open to the public.

Co-sponsored by the Department of International and Area Studies, Human Rights Archive, Forum for Scholars and Publics, Duke Human Rights Center @ FHI, and the Kenan Institute for Ethics Refugee Project.

Location: Ahmadieh Family Lecture Hall, Bay 4, Smith Warehouse

More about Fire at Sea:

"‘Fire at Sea’ Is Not the Documentary You’d Expect About the Migrant Crisis. It’s Better." (New York Times)

For more information, contact:

Holly Ackerman, Librarian for Latin American, Iberian and Latino/a Studies

Patrick Stawski, Human Rights Archivist