UC Berkeley grad earns Oscar nod
Documentary ‘4.1Miles’ puts a human face on refugee crisis in Greece
“4.1 Miles,” an Oscar-nominated documentary short made by a former UC Berkeley student, instantly plunges viewers into a chaotic nightmare at sea:
A Greek Coast Guard rescue vessel has come upon a flimsy inflatable raft overloaded with refugees who have fled Turkey. One by one, they are pulled from the cold, choppy waters, teeth chattering as they clamber aboard. Small children are crying. Someone screams, “God help us!” Moments later, all eyes are diverted to the harrowing sight of a mother — with two children — bobbing in the water while frantically strug- gling to stay afloat.
This represents just one brief glimpse into what it’s like to be caught in the middle of Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since World War II.
“4.1 Miles” is a 22-minute thesis film made by Daphne Matziaraki while she was enrolled in the documentary program of UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. It already has been honored with a Student Academy Award and on Sunday it will be up for an Oscar, competing against veteran filmmakers, including her own J-school instructor, Dan Krauss (“Extremis”).
“I never ever dreamed something like this could happen,” the Berkeley resident says. “This is my first film — a student film. I wasn’t confident that it would go anywhere. ... This is a huge, huge surprise.”
It’s also a testament to Matziaraki’s dogged determination to put a human face on the life-ordeath circumstances confronted by many in her native country of Greece. While attending Cal, she found herself drawn to news ac-
counts of the refugee crisis, and though the stories packed an emotional punch, she felt oddly detached from them.
“It made me think about the way we react to news of tragedies that happen elsewhere,” she recalls. “We feel empathy for a little while, but we quickly go on with our lives and remain in our comfort zones. There’s a disconnect. ... I wanted to make a film that bridged that gap.”
Matziaraki, 33, tracked down Kyriakos Papadopoulos, a Greek Coast Guard captain stationed on the beautiful island of Lesbos in the Aegean Sea, just 4.1 miles from the Turkish coast. Papadopoulos previously had been living what she describes as “an easy life in a tranquil town.” But that all changed when those 4.1 miles of turquoise water became a “deadly gantlet.”
“Now, because no one else cares, he had this burden on him — a heavy weight on his shoulders,” she says of Papadopoulos, who has rescued thousands of migrants, most of whom are fleeing conflicts in the Middle East.
Matziaraki, who graduated last spring, followed the captain and his small, ill-equipped crew for three weeks in the fall of 2015, her camera capturing their actions as they toiled to prevent entire families from drowning. On several occasions, she was asked to put her camera down and hold a baby, or help out in other ways.
“There’s a thin ethical line,” she says. “Before I went there, I thought my sole role would be as a filmmaker — an impartial journalist — and really reflect what’s going on. But it became difficult to stick to that and hold it together. You’re on a tiny boat that is made to hold six to eight people. Instead, you have 70, and everyone is in a complete panic. It’s chaos. When you’re asked to help, you have no other option.”
The film, Matziaraki says, raises questions about “our collective responsibility.” Her native Greece, already burdened by a financial crisis, doesn’t have the means to adequately care for the thousands of migrants who have poured across its borders. And the recent moves by President Donald Trump to implement U.S. travel bans is an added “slap in the face.”
“It’s yet another message to these people that the world doesn’t care about you and your children,” she says. “And it’s being delivered to people who are facing real terror themselves. The only thing they’re asking for is their dignity.”
While Matziaraki is thrilled to be included among Sunday’s Oscar nominees, she insists that the most vital benefit of the academy’s recognition is the added exposure it will bring to the issues “4.1 Miles” raises. The film already has drawn widespread attention as it was distributed by the New York Times as part of its Op-Docs series of short documentaries. It was also screened at the Telluride Film Festival.
On Oscar night, Matziaraki will get to rub shoulders with some of Hollywood’s elite in what she calls a “once-in-a-lifetime” experience. And she plans to bring along Papadopoulos as her special guest.
“In my eyes,” she says, “he is the ultimate hero.” Contact Chuck Barney at cbarney@ bayareanewsgroup.com. Follow him at Twitter.com/ chuckbarney and Facebook. com/bayareanewsgroup. chuckbarney.