The Moroccan boys Imad (15), Nourdine (17), Walid (18) and Hamza (17) live in a cave under the lighthouse in Melilla. Every night they break into the harbor and try to climb on board the ships leaving for the Spanish mainland. In the shadow of the rocks, they created a micro-society with their own hierarchies, chants and rules. To pass the time, they phone their mothers on video or film themselves being chased by the police. The film follows the boys over five years. From their life in the caves to their attempted escapes to Spain. They call themselves: Harragas – those who burn the passports, the borders, their lives.

Cast

Imad: Imad Imad

Nourdine: Nourdine Nourdine

Hamza: Hamza Hamza

Walid: Walid Walid

Mohamed: Mohamed Mohamed

Aziz: Aziz Aziz

Harraga - those who burn their lives - Poster 2 — Harraga – those who burn their lives

Benjamin Rost

Documentary

Production Country / Year: Germany, Morocco 2023

Language: ar., en., es. OF mit en. UT

Format: DCP, Color, 86min
1.33:1, Discrete 5.1

Original Title: Harraga - those who burn their lives

Director & Crew

Benjamin Rost 1 — Benjamin Rost

Born in 1987 in Augsburg. Studied at the Bavarian Television Academy, followed by studies in Philosophy in Munich and Film at the Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg. Active as a documentary director for film and television.

Filmography

2015 DIE BESCHÜTZER, Kurzfilm

2018 NACHTWANDERER, Dokumentarfilm

2020 A PORTRAIT ON THE SEARCH FOR HAPPINESS, Dokumentarfilm HOF 2020

2023 HARRAGA – THOSE WHO BURN THEIR LIVES, Dokumentarfilm HOF 2023

“With our film, we try to draw attention to the living conditions of children and young people, thousands of whom live right next door to us throughout Europe. We would like to create a dialogue and ensure that fewer of them have to drown in the sea. In the long term, we would like to decriminalize them. The perspective of Moroccan co-writer Hicham Bourais who himself lived illegally in Spain provides a valuable inter-cultural dialogue for the film that illuminates both sides of the border. During our research, we traveled for five years, following the boys throughout Europe, gaining insights into the invisible world in which children live illegally, door to door with us under desolate conditions. […]”

Benjamin Rost

Writer: Hicham Bourais
Director of Photography: Jonas Schneider
Editor: Erec Brehmer
Sound: Benjamin Rost
Sound Designer: Volker Armbruster
Music Composer: Alexander Vicar; Swallow X; Mohamed
TV Commissioning Editor: Marcus Vetter
Producer: Seloua ElGouni; Mark Szilagyi; Mark Szilagyi