Questions to Fortress Europe — Screening and talk with Lina Lužytė and Egidijus Mardosas

18 July 2024, 7pm

Nida Art Colony of the Vilnius Academy of Arts
E. A. Jonušo g. 3
Nida LT-93127

Questions to Fortress Europe
Screening and talk with Lina Lužytė and Egidijus Mardosas

With the heightened anti-migrant sentiment in Europe, many EU countries shut their borders, leaving thousands of refugees trapped in hotspots on the Greek islands. The biggest of these is the Moria refugee camp on Lesbos and the setting for Lina Lužytė’s Blue/Red/Deport (2022).

The screening will be followed by a discussion with Lina Lužytė, the director of Blue/Red/ Deport, and political philosopher Egidijus Mardosas, focusing on the contradicting construct of the ‘European identity’. The discussion will critically examine the lessons learned and overlooked from the recent ‘refugee crisis’, analyse the social and political structures influencing the ability of people in Europe to imagine a diverse society, investigate the origins of the politics of hate across Europe, and consider the potential for re-imagining and redefining the concept of Europe as an inclusive region in the face of contemporary challenges.

Blue/Red/Deport
Germany | 2022 | 82 min.

Like many of his fellow Afghans who criticised the Taliban, the Afghan filmmaker Talib Shah Hossaini had to flee the country with his wife and three young daughters. Although the family managed to make their way successfully to Europe, they found themselves stranded on the Greek island of Lesbos in Europe’s largest refugee camp, Moria. In the early autumn of 2020, four Afghan refugees set the camp on fire, burning it to the ground. Asylum seekers believed this would finally mean a way out of a deadlock, but in no less than 72 hours, a new camp was built, reminiscent of nothing but a prison. As the last hope of escaping the Minotaur’s labyrinth of an island fades, a man decides to make a film about his hard-to-understand reality and his obscure future. Director Lina Lužytė uses the genre of ‘meta cinema’ to convey Talib Shah’s reality.

Funded by the Lithuanian Council for Culture and Neringa Municipality.