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Porta d'Europa

For over 30 hours, a migrant boat with fifteen people on board has been stranded off the coast of Lampedusa, Italy. Emergency calls made to European coastal authorities have been ignored. The Sea-Watch Crew, an NGO fighting for the rights of refugees, deploys an aircraft in a race against time. As they pinpoint the boat’s location and send out distress calls, an unknown vessel appears on the horizon. Porta d'Europa immerses the audience in a firsthand account of the migrant crisis on the Mediterranean, putting the fight for border justice itself at the forefront. As events unfold, the crew has no choice but to witness the harrowing failure of European human rights policy and the gamble of human lives.

  • Samuel Mueller
    Director
  • Samuel Mueller
    Producer
  • Quinton Dayne Moore
    Production Assistant
  • Felix Weiss
    Production Assistant
  • Sebastian Greim
    Sounddesign/ Mix
  • Johannes Wimmer
    Sounddesign/ Mix
  • Marc Hinrichsmeyer
    Sounddesign/ Mix
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Short, Student
  • Runtime:
    8 minutes 30 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    June 6, 2023
  • Production Budget:
    0 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    Germany
  • Country of Filming:
    Italy
  • Language:
    English
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Filmschau BW
    Stuttgart
    Germany
    December 8, 2023
    World Premiere
  • Slamdance Film Festival
    Park City, Utah
    United States
    January 19, 2024
    North America Premiere
  • Manchester Film Festival
    Manchester
    United Kingdom
    March 21, 2024
    UK Premiere
  • Filmfest Dresden
    Dresden
  • FiSh Festival Rostock
    Rostock
  • Bundesfestival Junger Film
    St. Ingbert
  • Bundes Festival Film
    Duisburg
Director Biography - Samuel Mueller

Samuel Müller pursued his bachelor's in journalism in Stuttgart (Germany), Toronto (Canada), and Bilbao (Spain). During his academic years, he embarked on creating his first documentary films. In August 2022, Samuel collaborated with the NGO Sea-Watch on a civilian aerial reconnaissance mission in the central Mediterranean, culminating in the film "PORTA D'EUROPA." This project paved his way to the prestigious Filmakademie Baden-Württemberg, where he began his studies in documentary film directing in the fall of 2023.

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Director Statement

Anger and disappointment. These are the feelings that I took home with me when I left Lampedusa. After spending a month accompanying reconnaissance flights over the central Mediterranean with the NGO Sea-Watch in August 2022, I became endlessly disappointed with a system that provided great freedom to me as a child with open borders, school exchanges, functioning democracies and a shared value system. I became angry at the hypocrisy of European foreign policy.
While European authorities preached a fairytale of common values and human rights to us for years, I witnessed these same authorities trampling on human rights at their external borders. I witnessed a system that has no interest whatsoever in ensuring that people who make the life-threatening journey across the Mediterranean ever reach their destination, allowing thousands to die as a result of their negligence. I witnessed the tragedy that unfolds there every day. This documentary is a firsthand account of this recurring injustice.

I wish there was no need for such a film. But then again, reality is not a fairytale.

Samuel Müller