Flee Movie: True Story Of An Afghan Refugee In Denmark, Without Disclosing His Identity

Flee Movie: The story told in the documentary Flee is true, but full of changes and omissions from reality. How is this possible and why did Jonas Poher Rasmussen decide to make these changes to the testimony of the protagonist Amin? The reason will be clear to those who have already seen the animated documentary film nominated for three Academy Awards. Flee was created based on a story told to the documentary director by a boy he met in his teens. What began as a simple chat between friends, detail after detail, has become an intimate confession full of surprising and dramatic passages.

Jonas Poher Rasmussen initially thought of making a short film with his friend’s permission, but when the story expanded, he attempted to finance an actual animated film, with the help of stars like Riz Ahmed and Nikolaj Coster. The choice to animate the film starting from the voice of the protagonist is soon explained: the man now forty does not want his real name and identity to be disclosed. Amin is not really called that and the friend and director has taken steps to change many details of the story and of his identity, in order to make him untraceable. The reason? Amin has lived in Copehangen ever since he was granted refugee status as a young boy. The reality is a little different and could cause him serious legal trouble.

Flee Movie The True Story of Amin, The Protagonist Of Flee

As told in the film, director Jonas Poher Rasmussen met Amin in the 1980s. At the time, Afghan refugees were very conspicuous in Denmark, because they were very few. Rasmussen immediately noticed that little boy on the train and at school with a reserved approach and an attitude that is always on the alert, soon becoming his friend. The film opens with a hypnosis session to which Amin undergoes, who slowly begins to tell his story and that of his family. At the beginning of the story, Amin is a child like many others who lives in Kabul with his brothers, sisters and mother. The father is a pilot as the war against Russia rages. As soon as the mujahideen take power, they arrest the father, who disappears into thin air.

Amin ‘s family flees to Russia, the only nation ready to provide refugees with a visa. Amin’s older brother lives in Sweden and would like to take his two brothers, sisters and mother with him, but the political status of the Afghan family is shaky. When the documents expire, Amin and his go into hiding since they are in fact illegal and the target of bullying by the police. Meanwhile, the brother sets aside the money needed to bribe the Russian police and pay the human traffickers who will take the relatives to Sweden.

After several vicissitudes, Amin ends up in Copenhagen, where he is welcomed as an unaccompanied minor. The Russian trafficker advised him to lie, saying his family had died, in order to obtain refugee status. The film tells how much the refugee identity of Amin, who also came out as a homosexual as a young adult, still hangs on that lie. His family is safe and lives in Sweden, but he does not dare to talk about it even with his partner, for fear of losing his passport, nationality, protection.

Flee’s is a very topical story, which the director has decided to animate to protect the privacy of his source. The animations for the film were made under the direction of Kenneth Ladekjaer, who heads a team of ten Danish animators and some French colorists. Rasmussen cited the animated film Waltz with Bashir as a major source of inspiration for his work.

Does Flee’s Amin Really Exist?

Yes, Amin is a friend of the director, who gradually revealed his story to him, which was kept silent to avoid problems with the Danish authorities. The director only changed a few details to protect his anonymity.