In Transit: Refugees on Film

Los Angeles Times Critic's Choice

As long as there have been wars, there have been refugees.  But the migration crisis that has hit Europe and the Americas recently has been different, not only because of the sheer numbers attempting to flee Africa and the Middle East, but also because of the nationalist hate parties and presidents rising to stop them, whether in Hungary, the United Kingdom or America.  If their aim is to dehumanize and objectify the nameless masses of the headlines, in order to better exploit them as ideologically defined threats, the films in this series serve to return human dignity to their subjects, just as our country until now has always prided itself on welcoming the tired, hungry and poor.  In Transit: Refugees on Film encompasses four crises of the past century.  Beginning with the exile of German Jews before World War II, this international survey focuses on the aftermath of the Vietnam War, then moves on to more recent refugee crises in North Africa and the Middle East, communicating tolerance and understanding.  Embracing those values is what has always made America great.

Series curated by Jan-Christopher Horak.