In a safe space
LGBTQ REFUGEE TALE ‘FLEE’ DEFIES TROPES TO GAIN GLOBAL ACCLAIM
EMBEDDED in every handdrawn line of the animated documentary “Flee” is a poignantly unfiltered humanism that has galvanized viewers worldwide. Spotlighting a young Afghan man crossing borders to find a new safe haven, this portrait combats the superficial tropes around refugee stories with profound curiosity for the people beyond the headlines and their inner predicaments.
In vivid 2D animation, “Flee,” streaming on Hulu, chronicles the displacement of Amin (a pseudonym), who settles in Denmark. Aside from the perils of human trafficking and undocumented migration, Amin wrestles with his sexual orientation, a heavy burden in a traditionally minded society.
With numerous awards and festivals since its 2021 premiere, “Flee” made history with three Academy Award nominations for international feature film, documentary feature and animated feature. It didn’t win at last Sunday’s Oscars, but it was the first film to amass nominations in all three categories.
Danish director Jonas Poher Rasmussen, who turned Amin’s openhearted testimony into a sublimely lyrical vision, reminisced on some of the moments that transported “Flee” from the casual energy of a virtual Sundance Film Festival to the Oscars.
Completed in early 2020, “Flee” was set to premiere at that year’s aborted Cannes Film Festival before COVID-19. A bittersweet second chance emerged with “Flee’s” acceptance into the 2021 Sundance Film Festival, the first virtual major cinema gathering.
“When Cannes got canceled and when I learned Sundance was going to be virtual, it was a heartbreak. I was looking forward to having that experience of a premiere in a room with an audience on a big screen,” Poher Rasmussen says. “But that this film about a dear friend of mine, on which I worked for almost a decade, was going to premiere on such a big stage, was also amazing.”
While on lockdown in Denmark, Poher Rasmussen watched the fruit of his labor with family and friends on the day of the premiere. Overwhelmingly positive reactions quickly arrived.
“I had a feeling that we had done something special,” Poher Rasmussen says, “but I’ve had that feeling with other projects before and people didn’t feel the same as me, so it was a little nerve-racking.”
When “Flee” was awarded the World Cinema Grand Jury Prize for Documentary, he accepted from the comfort of his home around 1 a.m. local time. “I was in the kitchen with my wife,” he says. “It was surreal.”
One pivotal element that led to the success of “Flee” in the U.S. was its distribution by Neon and Participant Media, which came on board after a bidding war ensued immediately after the film’s first Sundance screening. At this point, voice actors Riz Ahmed and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau had already joined “Flee” as executive producers.
A deciding factor in choosing Neon was that it saw “Flee” not just as a refugee story, but as a human narrative. “Neon saw that this is a universal story about home,” the director says, “and about finding a place where you can be who you are.”
As part of that mission, Participant Media, the film’s co-distributor, implemented a comprehensive impact campaign centered on the global refugee crisis with a specific focus on Afghans and LGBTQ asylum seekers.
Halfway through 2021, as COVID-related restrictions loosened, Poher
Rasmussen and his team finally attended an inperson festival with “Flee.” And it happened to be the world’s most prestigious animation platform: France’s Annecy International Animation Film Festival.
“There was a standing ovation for 10 minutes,” says the director. “That was a teary-eyed moment that is going to stay with me for the rest of my life.”
When “Flee” won the Cristal Award for feature filmmaking, the main prize at Annecy, Poher Rasmussen was welcomed into the global animation community. “Coming from documentary, I’ve been used to doing a lot of stuff on my own,” the director says. “So to have artists working on your film, bringing ideas and their artistry to the project, gives you a feeling of being a team.”
A few weeks ago, the support was reaffirmed when “Flee” earned the Annie Award for indie feature from ASIFA Hollywood (International Animated Film Assn.).
Last summer, already with hardware to its name, “Flee” had a Denmark homecoming at Poher Rasmussen’s local cinema. “It was like a seven-minute walk from where I live,” he says of the theater. However, the rave reviews from the local press sharply contrasted with how divisive its central topic is within Danish society.
“This is a tough subject in Denmark,” Poher Rasmussen says. “It’s been polarized, like it is in the States and all of Europe. I try to stay out of the political discussions because it fast becomes a debate about systems, about how you can avoid taking refugees in, or how you would take refugees in,” he says. “I wanted to stay clean on the fact that being a refugee is about losing your home and looking for a new place to call home.”
Though he felt proud that Denmark selected “Flee” as its Oscar entry for international feature, he found Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s
reaction insincere.
“She posted on social media how proud she was that the film was selected for the Oscars but didn’t comment on the harsh laws and policies that her government inflicts on refugees,” he says. “I hope she can see the hypocrisy in it and think, ‘Maybe we need to look at ourselves first before we celebrate this film.’ ”
Poher Rasmussen has partnered with the Danish Refugee Council to host conversations across the country and beyond, as well as collecting funds for their crucial work by selling posters of the film. “I want everyone to see the film, not just people I agree with,” he says. “We have to create awareness and say that being a refugee is not an identity. ... They are individuals like the rest of us.”
DURINGthe last few months, Poher Rasmussen has presented “Flee” at festivals and awards screenings. He shared three memorable encounters:
“At New York Film Festival, two young queer men from the Dominican Republic came up and said, ‘This is not just Amin’s story, this is also our story.’ To me what is the most meaningful is to meet audiences who feel seen, those who take ownership of the story.”
“The same thing happened in Mexico, at the Guadalajara International Film Festival, where a young queer man said he found it so difficult to be queer in Mexico. For him to share in the experience of Amin, of being queer and the struggle to come out, made him feel safe for 85 minutes.”
“In Los Angeles, I met an Afghan who had made almost the same journey, but the other way around — through Asia. He told me, ‘This is also my story.’ Unfortunately, there are millions who have similar stories. No matter if you are from Afghanistan, or Syria or now Ukraine. It’s been so meaningful to meet people who have said, ‘Thank you for sharing a nuanced portrait of the refugee story and showing that we are all humans with hopes, dreams, sexuality, that we are not just refugees.’ ”
Just as Amin’s depiction in the hand-drawn animation doesn’t match his real physical appearance to protect his anonymity, the dark-haaired Poher Rasmussen made himself blond in the film.
“Growing up in a small village in Denmark, most of my friends were blond, so when I was 10 or 11 years old, I really wanted to be blond myself to fit in. But more important, I wanted to create contrast between the two of us in the film, I didn’t want people to start questioning where I’m from,” explains the director. “I do have a refugee background a couple of generations back, but this is not my story, it’s Amin’s.”
Just over a year after “Flee” premiered at Sundance, the team gathered at the Sun Creature Studio in Copenhagen to hear the announcement of the Academy Awards nominations. “There had been so much buzz building around the film that we would have been disappointed if it didn’t get nominated. Just to say that seems crazy, but that was how I felt,” says the director. “When the first nomination came, it was a huge relief like, ‘OK, we made it after all that work.’ ”
Amid tears and screams as the other two nominations confirmed “Flee” had made history, Poher Rasmussen left the room to call Amin, the person without whom a single frame of the film wouldn’t exist. “He was at work, and in his lunch break he had seen the stream and then had to go back to work and pretend like nothing happened,” Poher Rasmussen recalls. “It was surreal for us, but it must have been even more surreal for him.”
“The film crosses borders, both between countries but also between mediums,” he adds. As for his time on the awards circuit, he says, “I’m not used to this. We are just trying to enjoy this wonderful, weird and wild circus. It’s crazy to be part of this. I never imagined I would be there.”
While Poher Rasmussen doesn’t discard the possibility of working in animation again if the project warrants its use, he’s currently considering an influx of opportunities.
“Neither Marvel nor Disney have approached me yet, but there has been a lot of interest and I have different offers that I’m looking at and seeing if I want to work on them,” he says. “I have some ideas about things I want to work on. To me, it’s really important to keep my personal voice. That’s where I’m starting, so if I find projects, I need to make them my own. If Hollywood is OK with that, I’m really looking forward to seeing what can happen.”
Born of trust over a 25-year friendship, the making and promotion of “Flee” has helped Poher Rasmussen revalue the notion of home, both as main theme in the film and in missing his family during many months of commitments abroad. In turn, it has strengthened the bond these two men have shared since they were teenagers.
“First of all, him sharing his story with me was the first step in having an even closer relationship, because when you keep secrets you keep people at a certain distance because you are afraid of getting exposed,” says Poher Rasmussen. “He’s done that for a big part of his life, so for him to finally be able to share these things — and not feeling like he needs to keep secrets anymore — brought us closer.”