Ahmad Qais Sangarkhail

The Dream of a Foreign Land

The Dream of a Foreign Land is the name of a documentary film produced in early 2017 in Berlin, Athens, Lesvos and Istanbul. The film reflects the stories, experiences and dreams of Afghan refugees in Turkey, Greece and Germany, but also the viewpoints of different factions on migrants and refugees at the time. It includes interviews with a Greek lawyer, with a politician of the AfD party in Berlin, with the acting Afghan ambassador to Germany, and with a representative of Tamaja – an NGO working for refugees in Berlin. 

The documentary film was part of an action plan developed by Afghanistan Needs You (ANY), a grassroots campaign in Afghanistan initiated to prevent the brain drain from Afghanistan to Europe and the US. 

I was co-founder of the campaign, and the executive director and producer of the film. Co-producers were Shakib Mohsanyar (founder of ANY) and Edris Lutfi (member of ANY). Camera work and post-production were done by me. The narrator in the documentary was Saeda Najafizada. 

The documentary film was financed by the US State Department for 10,000 American Dollars along with extra 6,000 Dollars for travel and accommodation costs. The funds were received by the Sustainable Development for Future Organisation in Afghanistan, and the production of the film was done by Asara Media Production (now: Asara Global Group) for ANY. 

Film Installation, 2021