Private Project

Into the Sea

Into the Sea follows the family of Suleiman Hajazzi as they are relocated from a refugee camp in Greece to more permanent housing. Suleiman, his son and wife recount their journey escaping violence in Afghanistan and their hopes and dreams for their future.

  • Daphne Matziaraki
    Director
    4.1 Miles
  • Daphne Matziaraki
    Producer
    4.1 Miles
  • Daphne Matziaraki
    Camera
  • Yiorgos Rizos
    Sound
  • Maya Craig
    Editor
  • Foivos Andreas Apostolou
    Composer
  • Ziaul Haq Maliky
    Translation
  • Alfonso Solis
    Creative Producer
  • Japhet Weeks
    Executive Producer
  • Katrine Dermody
    Executive Producer
  • Project Type:
    Documentary
  • Runtime:
    14 minutes 9 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    October 31, 2019
  • Production Budget:
    17,755 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    United States
  • Country of Filming:
    Greece
  • Language:
    Persian
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    19:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Daphne Matziaraki

Daphne Matziaraki is an Oscar-nominated and Peabody Award-winning documentary film director. She was born in Athens, Greece and is currently based in Berkeley, California.

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Director Statement

My name is Daphne Matziaraki, and I'm an Academy Award and Emmy nominated documentary film director. I was born and raised in Greece, but I have lived far from home for many years. I have not been a refugee, but I have been a migrant in the United States and being far from home has troubled me often.

The Greek refugee crisis has occupied a great deal of my work.

I have tried to look at the crisis through a personal and very intimate lens. My film 4.1 Miles focused on a Greek Coast Guard captain and his efforts to keep a small bit of water—4.1 miles from the Turkish coast—from becoming a mass grave.

That was 2016. The crisis was at its peak. And even though it has faded from the headlines, it has far from disappeared. Refugees keep arriving in Europe. They are people who have a homeland they love—like I love mine. They are people who have tried to have a good life, but war didn't let them. They are not terrorists but often times highly educated and cultured people.

When I first met Suleiman Hajazzi I was struck by him and his family. They could’ve been my family. I decided to follow them along a small part of their refugee journey, as they were being relocated from a refugee camp in Greece. What drew me to them is that they had no idea what the future would look like and they felt they could do nothing to change that.

How does a refugee child feel when being uprooted from home? How does this child see the world? In Into the Sea little Hijaz is afraid of the beautiful Greek water that people travel from around the world to enjoy. How has the world become upside down?