Child Refugee Tale "More Than I Remember" will premiere at SXSW

SXSW Award-winning director Amy Bench will return to the Austin Film Festival next month (March 11-19) for the world premiere of her new animated documentary, More than I remember. The film, which illustrates the heartbreaking and hopeful journey of a Congolese teenager in search of her lost family, is screened in the Texas Shorts competition.

One night at her home in southeastern Congo, XNUMX-year-old Mugeni wakes up to the sound of bombs. As her family disperses into the surrounding forests to save themselves, Mugeni finds herself completely alone. From there, she embarks on an extraordinary solo journey across the world, determined to reunite with her lost loved ones and raise the Banyamulenge people. Despite unimaginable obstacles, Mugeni's story is ultimately a portrait of hope, love and family bonds.

Directed by Bench, who won an SXSW Special Jury Award for his previous animated short A line that birds cannot see plus accolades from BendFilm, Cleveland International Film Festival and Indie Grits -More than I remember is produced by Carolyn Merriman and executive producers by Eloise DeJoria and Constance Dykhuizen. Maya Edelman (Out of my head, by Lindsay Katt Avant gardener) infuses the short film with his unique visual style as an animation director.

Edelman and the filmmakers sought to reflect Mugeni's "sensibility and audacity" with rich, textured colors on an unlimited palette, grounding the design in reality while capturing the emotional stakes of migrant and refugee life. As Mugeni moves through each carefully considered landscape in search of his "home," these shifting backgrounds are juxtaposed with simplified character animation to focus the audience's attention on his memories of horror, escape from his country, and evidence that must face along the way. The team's goal was for "the viewer to witness events in a way that does not distract, glorify or burden the narrator with brutal imagery, in turn creating a unique level of intimacy that can transcend what is possible in other visual forms" .

Chilean animator Sebastián Bisbal and Lebanese artist Samia Khalaf, who both have personal experience with political persecutions, wars and displacements, helped bring this animated vision to life. Bisbal is based in Rancagua and has received an MFA in Film Production from UT Austin. Khalaf moved to California at the age of 17 to pursue animation at San Jose State University and has worked on projects for Disney TV, mobile games, and VR apps for the past 11 years.

The short draws attention to the US policy on the path to citizenship and the ongoing humanitarian crisis in southeastern Congo, where militia attacks on the Banyamulenge minority have led to the destruction of hundreds of villages and the displacement of over 200.000 people. (Read more in these reports from Human Rights Watch and Genocide Watch). These refugees have fled to neighboring countries or scattered around the world.

One sanctuary country that offers a path to citizenship for unaccompanied minors is the United States, which has partnered with the United Nations to help a small but critical number of this extremely vulnerable population over the past 40 years. But the life-saving program for unaccompanied refugee children (URM) was nearly eliminated during the previous administration in 2018, leaving thousands of people like Mugeni with fewer places to turn for help. As the filmmakers note, stories like Mugeni's underscore the need to provide safe spaces for the children who need it most and to work to expose audiences to the problem.

Support for the film was provided by IDA Enterprise Documentary Fund, Austin Film Society, Still I Rise Fellowship Program, City of Austin Cultural Development, JP's Peace Love & Happiness Foundation, Bethany Christian Services and ConnectHer.

morethaniremember.com | sxsw.com